Head of South Sinai hotels chamber: I made sure to monitor the tourists' condition, and it is very good, with plenty of entertainment on the beaches
Airlines that suddenly decided to halt their flights over Sinai have weak activity, as we rely on charter flights
Gilan El-Gafy, head of the South Sinai Chamber of Hotels, affirmed in statements to Travel Yalla that tourist arrivals to and departures from Sharm El-Sheikh are stable and that there are no cancellations of existing bookings. She described the tourists' state of mind as very good, saying she had made sure of this by going to the beaches to observe the situation, and found tourists, particularly Russians, enjoying various recreational activities.
El-Gafy pointed out that hotel occupancy in the city ranges between 70% and 80%, mostly Russians and Egyptians, followed by the British and Italians. She noted the relatively weak presence in Russian bookings this week, even though it is the school-year holiday week, because of the short duration, as the average stay of a Russian tourist in Egypt is between a week and 10 days.
El-Gafy added that foreign tour operators see the Russian plane crash at the end of last week as merely an ordinary accident, and that any airline that decides to halt its flights in Sinai airspace has shortcomings, because no decisions or measures should be taken until the investigations being carried out by the relevant authorities are concluded. She said the activity of these airlines has no real effect because we rely on charter flights, noting that the tourism company and the airline to which the tourist group and the plane belonged are not free of blame, and that their business volume is very weak.
