Tough times ahead for Egypt

LIBRA Holidays sales director Paul Riches has warned of a tough winter to Egypt as operators struggle to shift unsold capacity.

Riches said the volume of holidays in the market, coupled with the bombs in Sharm el-Sheikh in July, could lead to a difficult season and poor selling prices.

He blamed the mass-market operators for piling on capacity. He said Libra had reduced its flying programme to Taba. “It was becoming so hard to get the right price,” he said.

“The problem has been the major guys with their sledgehammer approach. They have seen demand for Egypt and switched capacity. It will cause problems for us, them and other specialists.”

Riches said overcapacity would have been a problem even without the terrorist attacks in July. “The bombs have merely exacerbated the problem,” he said.

Libra will launch a marketing drive with the Egyptian Tourist Board next year, focusing on summer 2006 but with some late deals for this winter.