Agents and Tour Operators See a Surge of Interest in Egypt
Photo Credit: Tourists gaze at the pyramids in Giza, Egypt in late 2017. Travel agents report a surge on renewed interest in Egypt. Flickr.com / Gavin Bannerman
Skift Take
With little unrest in recent years, tourism demand for Egypt is making a big comeback. Tour operators are beefing up offerings and agents are seeing renewed interest among clients.
Interest in Egypt among U.S. travelers, which fell into a long, deep slumber following the Arab Spring unrest of 2011 and subsequent incidents, is steadily reawakening, with 2019 poised to be a strong year, according to tour operators and travel advisors specializing in the destination.
“Egypt has increased five-fold for us in the past year, with many of our departures selling out fast,” said Robert Drumm, president of the luxury tour company Alexander + Roberts. “We’ve been operating there throughout all the difficulties and have had a stream of travelers all along, but now things are booming. It’s our number-one product in the world right now.”
Why the upsurge? Drumm credits the relative calm in Egypt over the past couple of years, plus pent-up demand from travelers who have put off visiting for what many is a bucket-list destination.
“In particular, a lot of Baby Boomers who have avoide
