“We predicted earlier that Cairo would open for flights in February, this is very good for the market, since it means a revival of the destination as a whole,” noted the general director of the tour operator Intourist, Viktor Topolkaraev.
PR Director of Tez Tour Larisa Akhanova also believes that the opening of air traffic between Moscow and Cairo for tour operators, first of all, means permission to sell tours and a “green light for the destination.”
"It won't be difficult to launch tour sales based on regular flights, and this can be done almost immediately after the official order. We can create a combined tour with accommodation in Cairo and a tour of the pyramids, where there is an excellent hotel base of world chains at affordable prices, the cost of a night varies from 30 to 50 dollars for a 4-5 star hotel," she says.
Cairo for Individuals
General Director of TUI Russia and the CIS Taras Demura perceives the opening of Cairo as an intermediate step. "There will not be such demand for it as for direct flights to resorts," he says.
According to tour operators, Cairo will mainly be of interest to individual tourists, consumers of luxury hotels. "The product will not be mass," notes T. Demura.
According to L. Akhanova, those who wish can travel to the Red Sea resorts on local airlines or use an organized transfer. However, it should be taken into account that it will be long, at least four hours to Hurghada and six to Sharm el-Sheikh, and not cheap.
"Two weekly flights of national carriers Aeroflot and EgyptAir to Cairo for tour operators who worked on this route are, of course, not a volume. These flights will be in demand primarily for business purposes (a number of cooperation agreements have been signed between Russia and Egypt) and for individual trips (Egyptians living in Russia, Russians living in Egypt). There will be no room left for tourists, and the cost of the ticket will not be low," she notes.
Opening of resorts
According to L. Akhanova, in order to restore tourist flow and begin to fully operate in this direction, tour operators need to open air traffic not only between Moscow and Cairo on the basis of regular transportation, but also to fully restore charter programs from Moscow and the regions to seaside resorts - Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh.
According to tour operators, Egypt will be as popular with Russian tourists as Turkey. "Currently, the cost of a room in a five-star hotel in Egypt is $30 per night, which is half as much as in Turkey. Therefore, if Egypt does not become more expensive after opening, it will be able to draw away a significant portion of Russian clients from Turkey," noted T. Demura.
In turn, V. Topolkaraev called it very likely that Egyptian hoteliers will offer very attractive prices immediately after opening. "There is no doubt that thanks to the pricing policy, Egypt will compete with Turkey," he concluded.
The Russian Ministry of Transport and the Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation signed a protocol on the resumption of air traffic on Friday evening. Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov previously announced the possibility of resuming flights by Russian airlines to Egypt in early February.
On Monday, following high-level talks in Egypt, President Vladimir Putin announced his general readiness to open direct flights between Moscow and Cairo.
Air traffic between Russia and Egypt was closed in November 2015 due to the crash of a Russian airline Kogalymavia plane over Sinai due to a terrorist attack on board. All 217 passengers and seven crew members died.
Source: tourism.interfax.ru
