Foreign tourists may face a shortage of rooms in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh this fall. We talk about the reasons for this and possible scenarios for tourists.
Hotels are assigned to give a third of the rooms for the conference
Egypt is continuing preparations for the International Climate Conference, which will be hosted by Sharm el-Sheikh. In this regard, the Ministry of Tourism of the country obliged all hotels in the resort to allocate 33% of rooms for the reception and accommodation of guests of the event in the period from 3 to 21 November.
According to the circular, all types of rooms of each hotel object should be included in this quota, and the state introduces regulated prices for these rooms.
Thus, a room in a 5 * hotel for breakfast will cost $ 500 per night for climate conference participants, $ 4,350 in a 4 * hotel, $ 200 in a 3 * hotel, and $ 120 in a 2 * hotel. The inclusive allowance for all-inclusive guests in 5 * hotels will be $ 50 per day, in 4 * hotels – $ 40 per day.
Climate event participants will book rooms within the hotel quota through a special platform opened by the Egyptian government. If a conference participant bookes a hotel outside the hotel platform, the hotel will be obliged to deduct in favor of the state 25% of the sale of the room.
According to official information, delegations from 120 countries are waiting in South Sinai, but the exact number of participants in Egypt is not yet known.
The government sees the climate conference as a case for promoting Sharm el-Sheikh as a business and conference tourism destination. Therefore, a whole range of measures is planned to improve the quality of recreation in South Sinai with an emphasis on ecology and technological services.
According to Egyptian media, the pool of hotels recruited for the conference, even hotels that are currently closed for violations of sanitary requirements or non-compliance with hotel service standards.
How the situation may develop
Representatives of the host companies and hotels of Egypt confirmed in unofficial comments to “Visor ATOR” the order to reserve rooms for the conference.
How the situation will develop in practice and whether there will be a shortage of places in hotels in Sharm el-Sheikh in November, the participants of the Egyptian tourism business do not know yet. According to them, several scenarios are possible.
The first is related to charter programs, primarily from the Russian market. If charters from Russia fly, it is possible that the Egyptian government will reduce the quota from the stated 33% of the number of rooms, for example, to 25-20%, or exclude from the list of hotels hotels that are most focused on Russian tourists.
According to experts, the requirement for hotels to give 33% of the rooms for the conference is somewhat reinsuring, and in fact the entire quota due to the low turnout of participants in the climate event may not be selected.
Therefore, the second scenario is a gradual reduction of the quota by November, when the total number of conference participants will become clear.
“If the grand plans to attract more than 100 countries are not implemented, the quota for conference numbers may be minimized or abolished. In addition, it is unlikely that foreign conference participants will massively book 2 * and 3 * hotels: rather, their interests will focus on 4 and 5 * facilities. Therefore, budget hotels are likely to fall out of this list altogether, “said representatives of the Egyptian tourism industry.
The third scenario is the most pessimistic. It means that by the beginning of November, Sharm el-Sheikh hotels will withdraw a third of the room stock from free sale in favor of the climate event and will keep it until November 21 at the request of the authorities.
In this case, the resort is threatened by a shortage of seats and rising prices for the remaining rooms. However, Egyptian hoteliers and host companies are still urging not to panic and wait for autumn, when the potential number of participants in the international conference in South Sinai will be clarified.