Reading and research are all well and good, but there’s nothing like first-hand experience. With sales to the Red Sea booming, there’s never been a more useful time to get out there and see it for yourself.
And now there’s a chance you could see it for free. Red Sea Holidays is offering agents places on a Sharm el-Sheikh taster fam trip, heading out to the Red Sea on April 29 and returning on May 1. Up to 60 agents will have the opportunity to check out the area, staying in the five-star Sharm Plaza or the four-star Grand Hotel Sharm.
There will be a few hotel visits, plus a bit of time to kick back and see some of Sharm’s sights, or just relax in the sun. Register your interest by emailing win@redseaholidays.co.uk.
Red Sea Holidays now flies to Sharm from eight airports, up from two last year, so clients can fly from Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, East Midlands, Newcastle and Glasgow.
If you’re not one of the lucky 60, all is not lost. Longwood Holidays has introduced agent offers departing throughout May, June and July, so agents can experience first hand some of the Red Sea’s finest hotels or a Nile Cruise without breaking the bank.
A seven-night trip including flights and transfers will start from £315 on a bed-and-breakfast basis, £335 for half-board and £359 for all-inclusive, per person. Offers apply for the agent and a travelling partner. Properties include five-stars such as the Hyatt Regency Taba Heights, the Hilton Taba, the Hilton Plaza Hurghada, and the Marriott Sharm el-Sheikh, and the four-star plus Coral Hilton Nuweiba.
Agents can also take the Presidential Nile Cruise from £429 including all excursions. Contact Longwood on 020 8418 2550 or agencysales@longwoodholidays.co.uk for more details.
North Africa news in brief
Centara opens five-star resorts in El Sokhna
The new five-star Centara Grand Beach Resort & Spa Sokhna is set to open in April. Centara Hotels & Resorts, better known for its properties in Thailand, has signed a contract to manage the property, set on the beach in El Sokhna, about an hour from Cairo.
There are 98 rooms and suites and 21 villas. Facilities include three restaurants, including a Japanese option and one set on the beach, a kids’ club, two swimming pools and a spa.
Uncover ancient Libya with Cosmos Tourama
Cosmos Tourama has just introduced an eight-day Ancient Libya Uncovered tour, starting from £1,295. The country is a paradise for history buffs, with highlights of the tour including Tripoli, the Roman ruins at Leptis Magna and Sabratha, and the desert cities of Ghadames and Kabaw.
The price includes flights to Tripoli from Heathrow with British Airways, seven nights’ half-board accommodation in four-star properties, all transportation and transfers and the services of a professional tour director throughout.
Host of hotel openings plus 14 from Jaz Resorts
Jaz Hotels & Resorts will open 14 new resorts in Egypt this year, including five in Sharm el-Sheikh in April and May. The five-star Sol Y Mar Riva World is a three-hotel complex in Nabq Bay offering more than 680 rooms, a ‘lazy river’, a kids’ club, spa, water sports, two cinemas and a bowling centre.
The four-star Sol Y Mar Naama Bay will open further along the coast in May, as will the five-star Iberotel Il Mercato, located in the heart of the action at the centre of Sharm’s shopping promenade. Other resorts will open later this year in Alexandria, Taba, Marsa Alam and Cairo.
