Survey: How to get British holidaymakers back to Egypt

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Egyptian authorities have announced a six-point plan after security concerns caused many major carriers to cancel popular routes resulting in a 40% drop in international tourism compared with 2 years

Egyptian authorities have announced a six-point plan after security concerns caused many major carriers to cancel popular routes resulting in a 40% drop in international tourism compared with 2 years ago.

Egyptโ€™s Minister of Tourism, Yehia Rashed, stated, โ€œMy one and only goal is to bring huge numbers of tourists back to Egypt.โ€

The six-point plan calls for:

Working with international tourism partners to restore success.

Working in partnership with Egyptโ€™s national carrier, EgyptAir, to develop new destinations, and to support charter and low-cost airline companies in bringing more tourists to Egypt.

Enhancing Egyptโ€™s tourism infrastructure by supporting investors and innovating with new ideas.

Raising the bar by meeting the highest international standards through upgraded product and service levels at tourist facilities.

Working to bring foreign direct investment to Egyptian tourism
Developing the growing trend in Egyptian tourism of sustainable eco-friendly accommodation, transportation, and activities.

Simply Holiday Deals set out to understand how Brits feel about Egypt and if the six-point plan outlined will be enough to convince them to holiday in Egypt once again. This survey was sent out on April 12, 2016 and the results reported on data collected between 12th April 2016 and April 15, 2016 which accounted for exactly 900 respondents.

This article was written on April 17 and as of that time, 913 individuals had completed the survey.

Survey Key Takeaways

While 32% of respondents claimed to travel to Egypt within the past 3 years, only 10% stated they have plans to travel to Egypt in the next 12 months which is a decrease of 68%, greater than the 40% reported by Egyptian authorities officially.

82% of respondents stated they plan to or will consider traveling to Egypt if the six-point plan is successful. Brits appear to be optimistic and willing to reconsider Egypt as their holiday destination at some point.

Not only do Brits want Egypt authorities to take action but they want the British government and officials involved in the process.

In the meantime, more Brits than ever are traveling outside of the UK, 83% of respondents stated they plan on traveling abroad in 2016. Out of the 83% that stated they do plan on traveling abroad, 61% stated they plan to stay within Europe based on proximity, cost and safety.

Not surprisingly when asked,”Do you plan to travel to Egypt in the next 12 months on holiday?” only 10% answered yes compared to the 32% that answered they had visited Egypt somewhat recently, at least within the last 3 years. That being said, 30% of the respondents answered maybe indicating many individuals are undecided whether they should choose Egypt as a holiday destination in 2016.

For those that answered no, the overwhelming reason was security. Surprisingly, 26% of the respondents stated it was either too expensive or chose โ€˜otherโ€™ as the reason why they would not be traveling to Egypt over the next 12 months.

Perhaps one of the most interesting insights gathered in this survey was when participants were asked, “If Egypt is successful in its six-point plan stated above would you consider traveling to Egypt?” A full 45% of the respondents stated yes they would while another 37% stated maybe. Combined 82% of the respondents stated they would or maybe visit Egypt if they were successful in creating a safe holiday destination. This paints a promising picture for Egypt and its future and says that Brits are open to making this destination their holiday location once again.

Everybody knows Brits love their beach holidays. When asked their favorite Egyptian city, Sharm el Sheikh came in number one easily at 43%.

When asked to leave a comment on, “What in your opinion would it take for you to consider visiting Egypt at any point in the future?” the majority of comments revolved around safety. A sampling of comments is below. 758 comments in total were received.

โ€œFor the British authorities to be convinced it is safe.โ€

โ€œI want to visit but my friends donโ€™tโ€ฆtrying to convince them.โ€

โ€œairport security tightening.โ€

โ€œUK security being at all tourist areas.โ€

โ€œNot sure, maybe British baggage handlers and security checkers.โ€

โ€œEgypt, and indeed many places abroad now, need to demonstrate that they are capable of dealing with the new threats to holidaymakers.โ€

โ€œIf it was a cruise port of call.โ€

โ€œProviding the security is tightened up I would. Have always wanted to travel to Egypt and did consider it a couple of years ago.โ€

โ€œEmbassy and travel agents declare it safe.โ€

While many Brits are open to the idea of traveling to Egypt again, it appears based on these and many other comments they not only want the Egyptian authorities to take action and declare it safe they want 3rd parties, in particular, the British government to have an active role and to have a physical presence in the region. Next, they wanted to know if participants were not traveling to Egypt specifically or if they had stopped traveling abroad all together. When asked, “Are you planning or considering traveling abroad at any point over the next 12 months?” a whopping 83% stated yes. Apparently Brits are traveling abroad in large numbers.

About the author

Avatar of Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen Thomas Steinmetz has continuously worked in the travel and tourism industry since he was a teenager in Germany (1977).
He founded eTurboNews in 1999 as the first online newsletter for the global travel tourism industry.

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