Victory celebrations follow Mubarak resignation; photo - EPATravel agents have reported that the sale of package holidays to Egypt began to pick up immediately after Hosni Mubarak announced last Friday that he would be standing down as president after two weeks of protests.
"At the height of the upheaval in Egypt the market collapsed – but sales started recovering soon after [the resignation],” says Artur Altman, a spokesperson for tourist agency Alfa Star, Poland’s largest tour operator providing trips to Egypt.
“Right now, the figures stand at over 100 trips sold per day," he added.
Artur Altman expressed hope that the number of trips sold by the company would soon return to levels before the anti-government protests ensued in Egypt, with up to 300 trips sold daily.
Meanwhile, Egypt's antiquities minister, Zahi Hawass, has announced that the country’s key historical sites would reopen to the public by the end of the week. The ancient pyramids of Giza have reopened but tourist traffic currently remains low.
The spokesperson for Alfa Star assures that the country’s tourist resort towns are safe.
“Local residents, many of whom live off tourism, are well aware that any riots would be detrimental to the region,” Altman said. (ab/pg)