38 Algerian tourism companies look for a diverse tourism product, and Sharm El-Sheikh is Algerians' top destination
Allam: The Algerian market is promising and targeted because of rising incomes, and Egypt is its nearest tourist destination at a suitable price
By Akram Medhat
Dr. Adel El-Masry, head of the Domestic Tourism Sector at the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Authority, said that a delegation of Algerian tourism companies, accompanied by a number of journalists, visited Cairo and Sharm El-Sheikh last week with the aim of increasing tourist traffic from Algeria to Egypt and introducing them to the various tourism products, noting that the delegation comprised 41 people, including 38 tourism companies.
For his part, Ahmed Allam, General Manager of Paradise Tours, which organized the visit of the Algerian tourism companies' delegation, explained that contact was made with Algerian tourism companies already working with the Egyptian destination, in addition to efforts to attract new companies, as the Algerian market is one of the important and promising markets. He stressed that these individual efforts need state support, especially given the strong drive to encourage tourism from the Maghreb countries.
Allam revealed in statements to "Travel Yalla News" that the Algerian market faces some obstacles, most notably flights, because capacity is not sufficient for the expected and growing demand from this market. There are two daily flights between Egypt and Algeria, one by EgyptAir and the other by Air Algérie, using small-capacity aircraft, noting that summer is the main season, especially between the two Eids, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.
He added that the visa is another problem, because it costs 60 dollars, which is a burden on them as it equals 6,000 Algerian dinars, whereas about 3 years ago Algerian tourists used to enter Egypt without a visa, as part of the list of other exempted Arab nationalities. However, the visa and prior security approvals were introduced, and they have become an obstacle and a hindrance to the decision to travel.
Allam said the reason and the incentive for focusing on the Algerian market in the coming period is the relatively high income of Algerian citizens and the change in their travel culture. Egypt has also become one of their main tourist destinations, which also include Turkey, Dubai, Malaysia, Morocco and Tunisia, with Egypt ranking fourth after Tunisia, Morocco and Turkey.
He pointed out that Egypt's share of outbound tourism from Algeria is small compared with the tourist attractions it boasts, in addition to the short flight time, as the flight takes only 4 hours, and the price of the Egyptian destination is also good and suitable for Algerian tourists. Their main destination and program is 9 nights, covering Sharm El-Sheikh, which takes 7 nights, and two nights in Cairo, and the program price ranges from 350 to 400 dollars excluding air tickets.
The General Manager of Paradise Tours noted that the aim of the trip that brought the Algerian tourism companies was to introduce them to other types of tourism in Egypt, such as cultural tourism and the floating hotels product, the "Nile Cruise".
On the other hand, Allam called on the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority to coordinate with its Algerian counterpart to approve the operation of direct charter flights to Sharm El-Sheikh, especially since EgyptAir has no direct route there, so there is no competition with the national carrier.
He revealed that Paradise has already requested to operate charter flights to Sharm El-Sheikh, their main destination, especially since the volume of demand allows it in Algerians' peak season, reaching 3 or 4 aircraft weekly in addition to scheduled flights. But whenever the aviation authorities in both countries are approached, each says it is waiting for the other side's approval.
According to tourism statistics obtained exclusively by "Travel Yalla News", Algerian tourism to Egypt recorded about 33,000 tourists during the first 8 months of 2017, up 32% from the same period last year, and they spent 353,000 tourist nights, an increase of 293%. Algeria ranks second in arrivals from the Maghreb countries after Tunisia, with Morocco in third place.
