Rediscovering Egypt
Contributors are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the contributor directly
For a country that is on the bucket list of so many, Egypt is deserted. There are no queues in the Egyptian Museum, no mass crowd at the Pyramids and the Sphinx lies in virtual solitude. Ask any Egyptian why and they will tell you the reason lies in the western media’s portrayal of the Arab Spring and subsequent political rumblings. These reports, with their revolutionary rhetoric, have been beamed into the homes of potential tourists the world over and damaged the international profile of a country which has a huge dependency on tourism. But why has that happened?
The issue is two fold. On the one hand, locals say, any protests that have taken place in Cairo have been over-dramatised by news agencies hunting for figures. Demonstrations are kept to the famous Tahrir Square and are not close to the scale that most westerners perceive them to be. Rampant scenes that look like they’ve swept across the whole country are simply not true, Egyptians say, but merely scaremongering. The second part of the ‘Egypt problem’ is that the country is a victim of its own success. Ask anyone to name their top 10 bucket-list destinations and odds are that some part of Ancient Egypt makes that list. Whether it’s the death mask of Tutankhamen, the Pyramids of Giza or cruising down the Nile. These monuments have survived changes in dynasties, wars, revolutions, natural disasters and everything else that comes with 3,000 years of history. That timelessness, coupled with the instability perpetuated by western media, has generated a trend of putting that trip to Egypt back a couple of years. After all, if the Pyramids have survived far worse, can’t your holiday wait until this latest episode blows over? Over the following series of articles Travel Daily will put forward why now is the best time to visit Egypt and why the rumours surrounding the country have been greatly exaggerated.
Invited to take a tour of the country by luxury operator Abercrombie & Kent, we will visit some of Egypt’s biggest attractions, meet local people and be able to ascertain first-hand, what the atmosphere is like within a country where tourism figures have experienced such a dramatic drop that the country is struggling against a major economic lull when it most needs that support.
For travel agents who have clients looking for a great deal on a bucket-list destination, we will answer any problems that passengers could face. Is Egypt really safe? What’s the general mood in the country like right now? Why shouldn’t I delay booking my trip until the country returns to a more stable environment?
We hope you enjoy this blog series and at the end of it are able to understand why Egypt should be put back on to your radar.
To read part two please click here.
Comments are closed.