Get to Know British Tourism, the Third-Largest Source Market for Arrivals to Egypt

The British had the largest presence during the January 2011 events and refused to leave despite their government's warnings

British tourism accounts for 13% of arrivals from Europe

Britain holds third place on the list of the top 10 countries sending tourists to Egypt during the first nine months of this year, with about 729,000 tourist arrivals, an increase of 8% compared with the same period of 2014. They spent about 7.5 million tourist nights, with an average stay in Egypt of 10 days.

British tourists are among the nationalities most keen on visiting Egypt and most attached to it, even in times of crisis. Thousands of British tourists stayed in Sharm El-Sheikh after the January 2011 revolution despite the security conditions Egypt went through at that time, and they refused to cut short their holidays and trip programs to return home in line with the British Foreign Office's warnings and its announcement of the evacuation of its nationals from Egypt.

British tourists are distinguished by their demand for various types of tourism. Cultural tourism, represented by visits to archaeological sites, comes first, followed by leisure (beach) tourism, along with the other products that characterize the Egyptian tourist destination. They are also considered above-average spenders.

In past years, the British market ranked second in the number of tourists arriving in Egypt, with about 1.5 million tourists in the peak year of 2010. The number of British tourists then fell to 1.034 million in 2011, affected by the events of the January revolution, a decline of 29%.

2012 then came as an attempt to maintain the rate of British arrivals to Egypt, recording 1.012 million tourists, a slight decline of only 2% from 2011, while slipping to third place as German tourists overtook them.

However, the British could not hold out against the events and the development of the political scene in Egypt after the June 2013 revolution, recording 955,000 tourists by the end of the year, a decline of 6%, though regaining second place nonetheless.

In 2014, British tourism to Egypt recorded 906,000 tourists, a decline of 5% from 2013, spending about 9.5 million tourist nights.

The British represent 13% of tourist arrivals from Europe, which is Egypt's most important tourism market, as it accounts for 74% of total arrivals to the Egyptian destination from all continents of the world.

It is worth noting that Egypt is currently taking part in the World Travel Market (WTM) in London, held from November 2 to 5, with the attendance of Egyptian Tourism Minister Hisham Zaazou and representatives of the private tourism sector from companies and hotels, to firmly assert its presence on the world tourism map. President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is expected to visit London today.

The Egyptian pavilion won best pavilion at the exhibition this year. WTM London, as industry professionals call it, is the second-largest tourism exchange in the world, after ITB Berlin in Germany, which is held in March every year.

Aviation Between Egypt and Britain

Two airlines operate between the two countries: national carrier EgyptAir and British Airways (BA). EgyptAir operates 14 weekly flights between Cairo and London, and one weekly flight from Luxor International Airport. The company is taking part in WTM London, currently under way.

British Airways (BA) shares the traffic between the two countries with it, operating one flight daily on an Airbus A320, which seats about 179 passengers. Given the success of the route, it had been planned to upsize the aircraft this November to a Boeing B767, which accommodates about 300 seats, and a wide-body type is expected to be used next summer. "We have not determined the type yet, but the choice is between the Boeing 777 and the new 787," according to earlier statements by Mervat Alfy, British Airways' commercial manager for Egypt and North Africa.

Since September 14, flights have been operated between Sharm El-Sheikh airport and Gatwick Airport, south of London, at two flights a week on an Airbus A319, which accommodates about 140 seats, with plans to increase them to 3 flights during the winter season months.

A table showing the development of British tourist arrivals to Egypt since the peak year of 2010: