The war on Gaza has moderately impacted tourist movement in the Red Sea, as the occupancy rates of hotels and tourist villages in Hurghada and Marsa Alam fell, ranging between 60-80 percent in most hotels.
Officials from foreign tourism companies in Hurghada confirmed that current events have led to a decrease in the percentage of new reservations until next February, in addition to a decrease in reservations during the Christmas and New Year holidays.
One of the international tourism companies, which manages about 65 hotels in Egypt, revealed that 50 percent of its reservations in Egypt were canceled for the remainder of this year, due to the Israeli war on Gaza.
The Marsa Alam International Airport receives 133 European international flights from South of the Red Sea this week, starting from Saturday until next Friday, according to the operating schedules announced by the airport.
The weekly arrival schedules revealed that these European international flights are led by tourists from Germany, the Czech Republic, Italy, Poland, Belgium and the Netherlands.
However, the largest percentage of cancellations was from northern European countries, particularly Germany.
Hotels and resorts in Sharm El Sheikh have adopted a major marketing plan before the Christmas season, targeting new markets, especially the Italian market which saw a strong return, in addition to the Russian market and East Asian countries.
The South Sinai Governorate announced a promotional plan for tourist attractions, including medical tourism and religious shrines in Saint Catherine, the Moses Bath, and the Sulfur Spring in Tur Sinai.
Governor of South Sinai Khaled Fouda met with one of the major Italian investors in Sharm El-Sheikh Eugenio Briatoni to discuss the increase of Italian tourist groups, especially after the return of Italian tourists to the city of Sharm El-Sheikh.
