Hurghada Records (Zero) in Russian Tourism for the First Time... and Germany Strongly Present

Germany tops the list of nationalities... Britain and Ukraine compete for second place

37,000 Russians arrived in the first week of November, ignoring the plane incident

By Akram Medhat - Travel Yalla journalist

For the first time in the history of Egyptian tourism, Hurghada saw a complete halt in Russian arrivals, as not a single Russian tourist was recorded arriving last week. This is natural given the complete halt of flights from Russia to Egypt in general following the crash of the Russian plane in the Hasana area of central Sinai just 23 minutes after it took off from Sharm El-Sheikh Airport.

According to a report prepared by Travel Yalla, Hurghada is the biggest loser because Russian tourism accounts for 55% of the tourists there and no other nationality can make up for it. Hurghada recorded a 51% decline last week after the Russian government's decision to halt flights to the Egyptian destination, plunging to 35,807 tourist arrivals from November 7 to 13, compared with 73,153 tourists in the previous week, from October 31 to November 6, which saw the plane incident after take-off from Sharm El-Sheikh Airport, while most nationalities are arriving at their normal rates, unaffected.

Table comparing inbound tourism to Hurghada over the past 3 weeks and the impact of the Russian plane incident:

Development of tourism traffic in Hurghada during November 2014:

The latest statistics for Russian tourists arriving in Hurghada, in the week before last, recorded about 37,000 tourists, which confirms the Russian tourist's attachment to Egypt and his understanding that it was an incidental accident, whatever its causes.

Despite the peak of the economic crises Russia went through in the second half of last year, which were expected to cast a shadow over the Russians' peak season in Hurghada in November, traffic was not affected, as about 156,000 Russian tourists came to Hurghada out of a total of 310,000 Russians in Egypt in November 2014.

Development of Russian tourism traffic in Hurghada during November 2014:

Germany in the Lead for the First Time

Germany has stood out by holding second place, unchallenged, on the list of nationalities arriving in Hurghada, representing the highest arrival rates after the Russians despite the large gap between them. But it topped the list last week amid the complete absence of Russian tourists in the city, with about 19,000 German tourists arriving, compared with 17,540 in the week of the incident and 14,219 in the week before that, indicating rising demand that even exceeds the numbers for the same periods last year by 15%.

What gives cause for optimism is that Germany has not issued travel warnings or decided to suspend flights to any Egyptian tourist destination, which leads most European countries to follow in its footsteps and limits the effects of the crisis following the negative decisions by Britain and Russia.

It is worth noting that Germany led the recovery in Hurghada, topping the list of arrivals to the city and surpassing Russia for the first time from December 20 to 26, 2014, with 18,964 tourists, while the number of Russian tourists was 18,959 in the same period.

British and Ukrainian Arrivals Stable

Despite Britain's decision to suspend flights to Sharm El-Sheikh after the plane incident and its announcement that the crash was caused by a terrorist act in which a bomb was planted on board, giving a negative image of airport and aircraft security, the continued strong flow of British tourists to Hurghada confirms their sense of safety, their confidence in and attachment to the Egyptian tourist destination, and that they have not been swayed by international media. They have remained stable over the past three weeks and have even increased, according to Magdy Saleh, former head of the Chamber of Tourism Companies in the Red Sea and head of "Albatros" tourism company, in statements to Travel Yalla.

Hurghada received 3,243 British tourists last week, putting them in second place among nationalities arriving in the city, compared with 2,866 tourists in the week of the incident and 2,494 in the week before the incident. This is an upward trend in British arrivals to Hurghada, which have remained fully stable, as confirmed by figures for the same period last year, when 2,847 British tourists arrived from November 8 to 14, 2014, and 3,046 in the week before that.

As for Ukraine, which competes strongly with Britain, it took third place and remained relatively stable, with 3,180 Ukrainian tourists arriving last week, compared with 3,784 in the week of the incident and 3,796 in the week before that, slightly below the figures for the same periods last year, by no more than 10%.

Hotel Occupancy

Average hotel occupancy in Hurghada was about 64% last week, due to the continued presence of Russian tourist groups whose trip programs have not yet ended, compared with 70% in the week of the incident and 75% from October 24 to 30. Russia will leave its mark in the last week of November.

As for average hotel occupancy in the Red Sea governorate, which also includes Safaga, El Quseir and Marsa Alam in addition to Hurghada, it recorded 66% last week, remaining almost steady over the past three weeks, which cover the crisis and the period before it, with the decline not exceeding 0.5%.

Top five nationalities arriving in Hurghada from November 7 to 13:

Development of arrival rates of the main nationalities to Hurghada over the past 3 weeks: