On January 2, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree lifting restrictions on flights to the Egyptian capital, Cairo. Rostourism responded to the president's decision. stated, that tour operators can create a tourism product to Egypt based on regular air service to Cairo. At the same time, direct Flights to Egypt's most popular resorts – Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh – remain banned
Most tour operators still don't have Egypt in their list of destinations on their websites. And even if they do, they don't offer any specific departure dates. Travel agency chains and online travel agencies still display warnings that tours to this destination are unavailable for booking.
Tours will be available by mid-January
"The conditions for selling tourism products to Egypt are now beginning to emerge, so we will be moving in that direction. It's likely that the first tours will be available for sale within a week or two. Regarding air travel, we don't yet have a full understanding of which airlines and under what conditions will offer scheduled flights," said Sergey Tolchin, Sales Director at Intourist. He added that the tour operator is ready to offer tourists a package tour to Egypt, including a flight to Cairo and subsequent transfers to the resorts.
So far, Aeroflot and EgyptAir have announced their intention to operate flights from Moscow to Cairo. EgyptAir plans three flights a week starting February 1. Aeroflot has not yet announced specific plans.
Tez Tour PR Director Larisa Akhanova reported that there are no bookings for Egypt yet. "Currently, tourists are calling and asking about Egypt, but not a single booking has been made. Overall, interest is quite low," she said.
According to the expert, the situation with Egypt is ambiguous. "Currently, only tours to Cairo are permitted to be sold using scheduled air travel. After that, tourists must book either a ground or air transfer. A domestic flight is a plus. Connections via Istanbul are also possible, but this will be of little interest to Russians," L. Akhanova emphasized.
Prices will be higher
"It's too early to talk about prices. It's not yet known how much a scheduled flight will cost, but it will definitely be more expensive than charter flights. Furthermore, accommodation prices in Egypt may rise with the reopening of the Russian market in anticipation of increased demand, and the weaker ruble than it was several years ago will also impact prices. In short, the newly reopened Egypt will be more expensive than Russians expect," added Sergei Tolchin.
L. Akhanova also noted that since the exact cost of air travel hasn't been announced, there are no exact prices for the tours yet. However, the tour operator has already listed hotels for booking on its website. A 5-star hotel in Hurghada will cost $212 for two for a week.
According to the flight search engine Aviasales, the cheapest roundtrip ticket from Moscow to Hurghada is available as of early February for 20,600 rubles. This flight is offered by Turkish Airlines with a layover in Istanbul. A similar ticket to Sharm el-Sheikh with the same airline starts at 20,000 rubles.
Russia completely suspended air traffic with Egypt in late 2015 following a terrorist attack over the Sinai Peninsula. An explosion occurred on board a Kogalymavia flight from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg. All 217 passengers and seven crew members on board were killed.
Source: tourism.interfax.ru
