Luxor and Nile cruises continue to be “tarred with the same brush” as Cairo despite being the same distance away as the Red Sea resorts, according to Discover Egypt director Philip Breckner.
Breckner said the operator’s Nile cruises had been fully operational since the travel ban was lifted in November and were currently running “half-full”.
He blamed negative media reports in part for causing consumers and the trade to be unduly nervous about booking cruise and stay trips in Egypt.
He said: “Luxor and Aswan are just as far away from Cairo as Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh if not further but they are continually tarred with the same brush. People think about Luxor in the same way as they do about Cairo.
“But life is going on as normal in upper Egypt and there have been little or hardly any incidents there throughout the troubles, including during the revolution in 2011.
“We had customers coming off a cruise on Monday and staying in Cairo for three days this week. Safety and security are of paramount importance to us.”
Discover Egypt said it had guaranteed its weekly cruises would go ahead even if only a few cabins were sold.
Breckner said it remained difficult to convince some agents that Nile cruises were safe because of concerns about Cairo in particular, particularly as larger tour operators such as Thomson and Thomas Cook had not yet reinstated tours as many are sold as a combined Nile cruise and Cairo city tour.
He added: “The travel agent on the high-street is getting the wrong perception and can’t understand why we are doing Nile cruises when other operators are not at the moment; we are not necessarily their first port of call as a small operator.”
He admitted business was slow, with many customers either those who know the destination well or repeat clients tending to book, but said it was important operators and airlines continued to promote Egypt. “The people in Luxor live and dream of tourism; they are begging tourists to come back,” he said.