Russian authorities have reached an agreement with their Egyptian colleagues to restore full air traffic between the countries, RIA Novosti reports.
Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, during which the leaders discussed the issue of restoring tourist exchange and air traffic without restrictions. As the Russian leader noted, the countries intend to resume charter flights to the Egyptian resorts of Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh in the near future. At the same time, Transport Minister Yevgeny Ditrikh said that there are plans to send a special commission to Egypt for a final check of the safety of resort airports. The launch of flights is possible only after this procedure has been completed.
Experts in the tourism industry noted that charter flights will be organized and tour sales will begin within a month. Experts have no doubts about the demand for the Egyptian destination, so Russians will be offered this tourism product in full. If charter flights are indeed restored in the coming months, then about 600 flights per month will be possible to send to Egypt in the winter season. After the opening of charters, the tourist flow in this direction will amount to at least two million Russian tourists, experts predict.
One of the important issues for Russians remains the cost of charter tours to Egypt. According to the vice-president of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia Dmitry Gorin, prices for Egyptian resorts will not differ much from those that were before the cessation of air traffic. However, it is worth considering the changes in the exchange rate. The cost of tours will most likely be comparable to packages to Turkey, the expert added. By the way, the price of a week's holiday in Turkey in a 4* hotel on an all-inclusive basis currently starts from 35,000 rubles for two.
Source: news.turizm.ru
