Brits’ bookings to Egypt rise up to 89%: Thomas Cook

CAIRO – 24 April 2018: Leading travel company Thomas Cook announced that British tourists’ bookings to spend their holidays in Egypt have risen by up to 89 percent, which makes a high rate compared with past years.

In its 2018 “Holiday Report”, Cook stated that “Brits have returned to Egypt in big numbers and are showing similar enthusiasm for Tunisia now the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advice has changed.”

“Package holiday bookings to Egypt are up 89% year-on-year, even with Sharm el Sheikh effectively closed to tourists. Visitor numbers to the Red Sea are now close to where they were for Thomas Cook in 2015, although centered entirely on Hurghada and Marsa Alam, which was introduced in February 2017 for the winter 2017/18 season,” the report stated.

The report added that the first flights to Egypt sold out and bookings have been strong for months, so much so that Thomas Cook Airlines has increased to 11 weekly flights for this summer. Importantly, the family share of bookings for Tunisia is 44 percent and 51 percent for Egypt.

Last October, Cook announced resuming its air flights to Marsa Alam International Airport, starting October 30 after a nine-year suspension since 2008.

According to the famous firm, this discussion came as a result of the rapid growth of holiday demand in Hurghada, which witnessed a 113-percent increase for the winter of 2017.

“Egypt has proven popular this summer and bookings remain strong for the winter period,” Thomas Cook's managing director in the U.K., Chris Mottershead, said. The flights were announced to be from Birmingham and Gatwick to Marsa Alam, Egypt.

In August 2017, Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zaid issued a statement after a meeting held between Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Alistair Burt, a British Conservative Party politician, affirming that the volume of British tourism increased 60 percent over last year.

Also, in a short interview with DMC television channel last September, British Ambassador to Egypt John Casson said there are about 40 weekly direct flights between Egypt and the U.K.

On October 30, Casson stated that British tourism to Egypt has increased by 74 percent in contrast with last year.