Tour operators are offering big savings on holidays to Egypt as part of their strategy to entice tourists back to the destination.
Product manager at Kuoni Ellis Jones said: “We have recosted our 1999 brochure and prices have never been better value.”
In June, Kuoni is offering seven nights’ bed and breakfast at the Hilton in Luxor based on scheduled flights with Egypt Air from ú369 compared with ú407 the same time last year.
“The interest is definitely there but we are hoping that the pricing will attract more people throughout the year and we will see significant growth in 2000,” said Jones.
Customers booking Abercrombie and Kent’s Treasures of the Nile tour, a seven-night cruise on board the operator’s luxury boats, can save up to ú100 on last year’s prices between May and July.
Prices lead in at ú695 including flights with Egyptair.
Planning manager Jayne Smith said:”The market was already coming back but this new pricing has definitely helped to increase bookings. We are up substantially on last year and our boats are fully booked until May.”
Bales Worldwide has resisted discounting holidays, but has pegged prices at last year’s levels.
Deputy managing director Mandy Nickerson said: “We felt it was important to retain features such as entrance fees, tipping and excursions. If we dropped the prices, we would have been forced to drop these added extras.”
Along with competitive pricing in the marketplace, consumers will also be exposed to Egypt’s biggest-ever advertising campaign which forms part of a drive by The Egyptian Tourist Authority to put the country firmly back on the tourist map.
The organisation is investing ú4.5m in UK advertising this year – an increase of ú1.5m on 1998 – which launched this month with a TV campaign entitled ‘Egypt the Seventh Millennium’ featuring historical images.
It is being, accompanied by national and trade press advertising.
Tour operators have praised the organisation for its aggressive marketing stance and credited it for the steady increase in bookings.
“The tourist authority has done a super job. It helps a great deal taking pages in glossy magazines and national supplements,” said Abercrombie and Kent’s Smith.
A second phase of the campaign begins in the autumn with another series of TV and press advertising.
Plans for more media activity are also in the pipeline – the tourist authority is negotiating plans to take over every billboard at Oxford Circus Underground station in London in order to further its cause.