Egypt, following Turkey, described the consequences of the Russian-Ukrainian war for its tourism business as catastrophic and called for an urgent solution. “Russia and Ukraine are the two most important and largest tourist markets that export tourists to Egypt. The consequences could be long-lasting due to Western economic sanctions imposed on Russia, “said Yahya Rashid, a former tourism minister. However, rescue projects are relatively utopian – it is proposed to look for “alternative and atypical markets”, such as the Middle East market and the Southeast Asian market.
“The consequences will still be there, even if the hostilities end soon. The reason – Western economic sanctions imposed on Russia, the main market for Egyptian tourism. They can be expanded and will require new mechanisms – even to work with the type of currency that is allowed to trade. Will it be only in US dollars or in Russian rubles, which reached minimum values in the first days of hostilities? the expert asked.
He recalled that the Russian market was lost to Egypt for six long years after the terrorist attack in Sinai and it was a significant blow. At the moment, all alternatives are just coming to their senses after the pandemic. Therefore, the plan to “create alternative markets away from conflict zones and hotspots” is not easy to implement.
For his part, tourism expert Moataz Sedki, deputy chairman of the US House’s tourism committee and CEO of Travco Group, said the sanctions would certainly have a negative impact on Egypt’s tourism. “The situation with SWIFT will interfere with the settlements in US dollars between tour operators and Egyptian travel companies. At the same time, the high prices that will inevitably force citizens of Russia and Ukraine will refrain from traveling abroad, “the expert added. However, he estimated the loss of the market at only 35% of the incoming tourist flow. “The total number of travel companies operating in the Russian and Ukrainian markets does not exceed three or four companies, and hotel chains only one or two, and the rest of the companies and hotels have other markets in which they operate. Therefore, the damage will be done to a limited number of Egyptian hotels, not all hotels,”- said the Egyptian expert.