Fears are growing among travel bosses that violent demonstrations in Egypt this week could escalate to levels seen in Tunisia, which shut down the country’s tourism industry.
Four people were killed in Cairo and Suez on Tuesday in the biggest anti-government demonstrations the country has seen in 25 years.
Egyptian protesters claimed to have been inspired by the Tunisia demonstrations; this lead the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to warn against all travel to Tunisia and the big two to scrap all flights until mid-February.
The trouble comes at a time when Egypt is having to deal with reduced capacity after the demise of Kiss Flights and, although some distance from the key Red Sea resorts, there are fears it could spread.
Youtravel.com sales and marketing director Paul Riches said: “Egypt has been having a tough time anyway compared with previous years and something like this won’t help matters.
“In the last few days we were actually up on last year, but there is a concern that we could see a repeat of what’s happened in Tunisia.”
However, he said good pricing would still attract holidaymakers. “If availability is good and the pricing is there, it will hold up.”
Bill Allen, managing director of On Holiday Group, said: “We are keeping an eye on the situation. I imagine customers will start to get in touch if it stays in the news for the next few days.”
Sabina Shaida, managing director of luxury operator Mosaic Holidays, which has clients booked to travel to Cairo in the coming weeks, said she was keeping a close eye on the situation.
She said: “We haven’t seen an impact so far, but the main thing is it doesn’t escalate further. It is not at that critical stage yet where we have to make a decision.”