Egypt terminates contracts of 65 foreign travel agencies

The Egyptian Chamber of Travel Agencies announced Sunday it had terminated business dealings with 65 foreign travel agencies by the end of last year; albeit for failing to pay dues to their Egyptian partners.

Adel Zaki, the chairman of foreign tourism committee at the chamber, stated that debts amounted to $ 3.3 million, from which $ 2.2 million were recovered by the Egyptian Tourism Federation within the past two years.

Tourism in Egypt has witnessed a decline as a result of the unrest in the country during the past three years. This was especially the case following the violent dispersal of two large pro-Morsi sit-ins in Cairo last August.

The decline, according to the tourism committee chairman, “reduced the volume of transactions by Egyptian companies in international markets and led to a decrease in amounts due by foreign agencies to their Egyptian partners.”

According to statistics by the ministry of tourism, the number of foreign tourists visiting Egypt in 2010 reached 14.7 million, with approximate revenues of $ 12.5 billion. In 2011, the number of tourists plummeted to 9 million, with only $ 8.8 billion revenues. The figure increased again in 2012, reaching 11.5 million tourists and $ 10 billion revenues. In 2013, however, no figures have been published yet, although the minister of tourism, Hisham Zaazoo, expects a decline by 39% due to travel warnings following the dispersal of pro-Morsi sit-ins in August.

Tourism in Egypt attracts 20% of foreign currency annually, with investments of approximately $ 9.8 billion, according to data by the ministry of tourism.

Source: Arabi21