MATTA ON FACT-FINDING MISSION IN POST-REVOLUTION EGYPT

From Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin

CAIRO, May 6 (Bernama) -- A group of Malaysian tour operators are on a
fact-finding mission in this Egyptian capital to see for themselves the
situation in the country following the people's revolution in January that
overthrew Hosni Mubarak.

They are part of the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta)
delegation which also includes Matta president Khalid Harun.

Khalid admitted that there was a drop in the number of bookings to Egypt,
the home to ancient monuments dated back thousands of years, following the
crisis.

He told Malaysian journalists here on Friday that he was, however, pleased
to note that during the visit here, things were running smoothly.

"We see no problem," he said, "Travel is smooth, accommodation is
comfortable and it's easy to reach places of attraction."

He added that during the Matta Fair in Kuala Lumpur in March, the number of
bookings for the Egypt sector was "very low."

"We've anticipated this in view of the revolution. Malaysians were worried
at that time about the uncertainty in Egypt," he said.

The visit, he added, would give a true picture of the situation in Egypt
especially among Malaysians who wanted to visit the country.

The visit is on the invitation of the Egyptian tourism authorities.

Egyptian Ambassador to Malaysia, Mohamed Saad Ebeid, told Bernama in Kuala
Lumpur recently that the situation in Egypt was returning to normal and that the
tourism industry, which suffered during the anti-Mubarak protests, was set to
recover.

He noted that the post-revolution, with its new ruling power currently held
by the Egypt Military Council, had created a “new image” of Egypt for tourists
and that they were curious to know about life in the country.

Egypt’s tourism industry incurred a small-term loss during the revolution as
people changed plans for touring Egypt due to safety concerns, he said.

Meanwhile, the Swiss Inn Pyramids Golf Resort in Cairo suffered losses due
to the revolution but its general manager Louisa Morena was confident that the
Egyptian tourism industry would recover quickly.

“From February to mid-March, it was zero tourist for our hotel. Whatever
bookings that we received in January from Denmark, France, Norway and north
European countries were cancelled immediately after the revolution.

“We have to resort to other means by focusing on local tourists. We offer
good rates for weekend's stay which fell on Friday and Saturday,” she said.

Morena said business was picking up for the five-star hotel and it started
to receive bookings from foreign and local tourists since middle of March.

“We feel that this is due to the situation in Egypt now ... it is safe and
tourists can travel comfortably too,” she said.

Located at the prestigious "6th of October city" in Cairo, the resort is
currently receiving tourists from Italy, France, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and
Malaysia.

Morena expects the number of tourists bookings to increase after the
September presidential election, saying the big season would begin during winter
from October to January.

Star Gold Travel Chairman Mohamed El Banna also said that things were
getting better for the Egyptian tourism industry.

“Foreigners have realised that there’s nothing to worry about when they
travel to Egypt. When the revolution erupted, our company suffered losses
because 35 group bookings consisting of 1,800 tourists from China, India,
Malaysia and Singapore were cancelled,” he added.

But he was relieved that since April, the Star Gold Travel had begun to
receive bookings mostly from Russia, Germany, England and France.

A pharmaceutical marketing manager from Italy who declined to be named said
he felt safe and comfortable when travelling in Egypt.

"Things are back to normal. I have been coming here for business and I think
there’s nothing to worry after the revolution,” he added.

Sylvie Nobecourt, 40, from Lyon, France was excited for having realised her
childhood dream of visiting Egypt.

“My family and I had always hoped that we could visit Egypt one day. The
revolution did not affect our plan to visit this country.

“Initially we wanted to come in January but we postponed it due to the
revolution,” she said when met at the Great Sphinx on Friday.

During their week-long stay here since Saturday, Nobecourt said she and her
family felt safe and were enjoying their trip.