Egypt extends charter incentives in wake of bombings
Egypt will extend its tour operator incentive scheme until the end of the year as it continues to woo back tourists following the Sharm El Sheikh bombings.
Since the attacks in August, the tourist board, in partnership with hoteliers, has been paying for the bulk of any unsold charter seats in a move to persuade operators not to cancel flights.
The scheme was scheduled to end at the month but, following its success, has been extended until December 30. The scheme will also now include flights to Luxor, Taba and El Alamein in addition to Sharm.
Egypt Tourist Board UK regional director Khaled Rama said: “We offered to pay for any unsold seats up to 94% of the capacity. It was a way of reassuring the industry that we are still here and standing side by side with the trade.
“Because many flights have been almost full, we still have the budget for the scheme and have decided to extent it to the end of the year.”
The incentives kick in when 65% of the charter seats have been sold.
Rama said tourists are returning to Egypt’s resorts and claimed prices were holding up well.
Figures released by the tourist show 73,019 UK tourists visited Egypt during August, 300 more than July and an increase of 35% on August last year.
Rama said the year-on-year increase reflects the growing number of charters flying into the Red Sea resorts. Capacity will rise again in October when GB Airways is due to launch flights into the region.
Report by Steve Jones
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