Hotels suffer as visitors stay away

01 February 2011

Long-term impact on tourism industry still unclear as unrest continues to gain strength

Hoteliers in Cairo are waiving cancellation fees as international visitors cancel holidays over concerns about violent protests.

Hotels in Egypt are ramping up security as political protests continue to escalate in Cairo.

“We have implemented additional security procedures at all our hotels across Egypt, particularly Cairo,” says Rudi Jagersbacher, president, Middle East and Africa, Hilton Worldwide. “Our teams are working around the clock to take care of our guests, including those who have had to extend their stay due to flight disruptions. We are receiving a number of cancellation requests for hotels, primarily those in Cairo and we are waiving cancellation fees for the coming week,” Jagersbacher says.

Hotels in the resort areas of Egypt have been less impacted.

Hilton is assisting guests wishing to transfer their bookings to other parts of the Middle East, such as Dubai. Similarly, US-based Marriott International says it is continuing to monitor the unrest, but the location of its two hotels in the capital is away from the centre of the disturbances, which are on the east side of the Nile river. Marriott is also waiving cancellations fees until 4 February.

Tourism on the Red Sea coast, however, remains relatively immune to the current political turmoil in the capital. The majority of tourist hotspots in Egypt are found along the Red Sea, 483 kilometres from Cairo.

 

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