Egypt tours canceled until October

Operators are canceling more tours to Egypt – some up to October –  as more fatalities are reported during protests.

At least 15 people were killed in a shooting incident in Cairo last night amid continuing unrest over the removal of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, reports the BBC.

The first Islamist president was removed from office by the army on Wednesday after mass protests.

The Foreign Office had warned of further protests planned for last night which it said ‘may be directed partly against foreigners’.

Adventure travel specialist Explore has cancelled all tours to Egypt up to October following a warning from the Foreign Office against all non-essential travel to the country, with the exception of the Red Sea resorts.

Discover Egypt has also cancelled two Nile cruises following the fresh advice issued last week after a public uprising which led to the ousting of the country’s president and TUI has temporarily pulled out of Luxor.

Explore has cancelled five tours, affecting six different departures. A spokesperson said: "With a number of family tours to Egypt scheduled to depart over the summer months, Explore has taken the bold decision to cancel all tours until October in a move to guarantee the safety of its customers and to give them as much time as possible to plan an alternative holiday."

Explore is currently contacting all agents and customers whose bookings have been affected and customers will be offered a full refund or the opportunity to transfer to another tour.

Families wishing to transfer their holiday can choose from a range of destinations including Morocco, Turkey, Croatia, Jordan, Vietnam, India and China, all of which currently have availability.

"Explore is closely monitoring the situation and FCO advice and will make a decision on the status of tours departing after October 5 in the coming weeks," added the spokeswoman. "This decision will be communicated to agents and customers as soon as possible."

Sales director Carl Burrows added: "We take the advice issued by the FCO very seriously and for that reason, have cancelled all Egyptian tours departing over the next few months. The safety of our customers is of the upmost importance and we do not deem it safe to take them to Egypt during these turbulent times.

 "Our Customer Services team have been in contact with agents whose bookings have been affected, and will continue to offer up-to-date advice to them as the situation develops. We thank agents for their cooperation during this time and look forward to working with them to find suitable alternative destinations for our customers". 

Discover Egypt said it was convinced business to Egypt would return as the situation in the country returned to normal. "Things are difficult but we continue to take future bookings," said the company’s Philip Breckner. "We also have several clients on a Nile cruise who travelled out before the new travel advice, who simply don’t want to come home."

Chairman of the Egypt Tourism Federation Elhamy Elzyat has written to tour operators saying he is working on a "plan of action to recreate confidence in the Egyptian tourism product bringing onboard as soon as appointed the ministers of tourism, antiquities, culture, interior and all appropriate governors to create a new image for Egypt."

Mohamed Abo Zaid, vice-President of Wings Tours & Nile Cruises, one of the largest agencies in Egypt, added: "As far as the tourism industry is concerned within Egypt, all sites in Cairo, Alexandria,  Luxor, Aswan, Hurghada, and Sharm El Sheikh are open to visitors at their normal working hours.

"Airports, ports and gateways are operating normally at their full capacity. All highways and international roads between main cities together with the railway lines were open and operating normally. All hotels,sightseeing spots as well as all tourist attractions points have continued to function normally."

By Linsey McNeill, TravelMole UK