By Akram Medhat
Amid the tense political situation and security fears in Lebanon following the resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri and his travel to Riyadh, tourism in Beirut, one of the most prominent tourist destinations for Arabs, especially Egyptians, has been affected. After four Arab countries asked their citizens to leave Lebanon, concern about traveling there has begun to reach Egyptian tourists, who are keen to go there especially during the Christmas and New Year holidays.
In this context, George Boulos Attia, head of T-Shoury Tours, one of the largest tour companies operating charter and scheduled flights to Lebanon, said that demand for Beirut trips has been greatly affected, especially for the New Year holidays, across all the Egyptian tour companies working in this market, to the point that demand has almost stopped, even though the Egyptian government has not issued any warnings in this regard.
The Current Situation of Lebanon Trips
He added, in an exclusive statement to Travel Yalla News, that the cancellation rate for trip bookings in November and December reached 30%, whether on charter or scheduled flights, noting that the tour companies operating Beirut trips are watching the situation to decide whether to continue promoting them or to cancel them, and stressing that the general situation in Lebanon is calm, but that the political decisions of some Arab countries are the reason for the concern and fears among tourists traveling there.
Attia explained that T-Shoury operates one plane weekly on EgyptAir flights from Cairo to Beirut during November and December, while in the Christmas and New Year week 20 to 30 charter flights are operated.
He noted that if load factors are weak on any flight, flights will be rescheduled and merged, and clients are free to accept or cancel the booking if the flight date is not suitable.
Average Prices of Beirut Trips
Attia pointed out that T-Shoury's program prices to Lebanon, departing from Cairo airport to Beirut on EgyptAir flights, are EGP 6,900 for 5 days/4 nights in a 3-star hotel, and it also operates flights from Borg El Arab airport in Alexandria and from Sharm El-Sheikh airport, but at a lower price of EGP 4,900, including transfers from Cairo to these airports.
It is worth noting that T-Shoury Tours holds about 60% of the market share of Egyptians' tourist trips to Lebanon, which is why Travel Yalla News was keen to monitor indicators of demand and bookings for Lebanon through it.
On the Travel Yalla website, the largest promotional website for tour companies' offers, prices of Lebanon trips range from EGP 4,500 to EGP 10,000, depending on the hotel level and travel timing, with New Year trips being the most expensive.
Lebanon Visa
The Lebanon visa is subject to a special arrangement, as it gives the traveler two options: either apply to the Lebanese embassy for a visa in advance, at a fee of EGP 675, which must be done sufficiently ahead of the trip date, or travel without a visa, provided they carry $2,000, which is checked at Cairo and Beirut airports.
