Russians began to charge huge sums of money for returning and exchanging tours to Egypt

In connection with the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Russians were officially urged to refrain from traveling to Lebanon. And regarding Egypt, which also borders a war zone, the native tourism industry assures that “everything is calm there.”

We found out how the situation is seen from the inside by talking with Egyptian guides and our tourists.

Our Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Rudakov warned his compatriots against traveling to Lebanon, and urged those who are already in the country to leave it as soon as possible. And he even gave a tip that it’s worth using Egyptian airlines with a landing in Cairo (there are no direct flights between Lebanon and the Russian Federation – Auth.) at a price of 30 to 40 thousand rubles per person one way.

– Can I buy a tour to Lebanon? – I’m calling a domestic travel agency specializing in the Middle East.

“What are you talking about, what about Lebanon, it’s dangerous there, Israel is nearby,” answers the manager, who introduced herself as Katya.

– Are there tours to Egypt?

– Of course, I recommend Sharm el-Sheikh, we now have a special excursion program there.

– Not to Israel, I hope? Otherwise, the European and American tourism industry is asking its citizens not to go even to Cyprus, and they’re sending us straight into hell! Moreover, Sharm is closest to the Israeli border.

– Well, Taba is closest, but she is not popular among Russians. And from Sharm to Israel there are as many as 500 km, Cypriot Limassol is even closer to Gaza. And we canceled excursion trips to the Dead Sea and Jerusalem from Sharm and Dahab. If you don’t believe me, look at the reviews for Dahab, they are now full of ours (a diving resort 80 km from Sharm – Auth.).

But in the public space dedicated to Egypt, instead of the traditional fearlessness of our vacationers, I suddenly discover doubts.

“I bought a ticket to Sharm for my daughter’s autumn holidays long before the events in Israel,” shares Galina, the mother of a fifth-grader from New Moscow. “But in light of what’s happening, I’m afraid to drag my child there.”

The travel agency said that the refusal from Egypt is only “on a general basis” – that is, in our case, when there are two weeks before departure, they will not return any money to me at all. Well, I foresaw something like this, so I asked the manager to simply change our tour to the same one, but to Hurghada. They also trade in Hurghada. And she told me: it’s possible, but for an additional fee! Although in general Hurghada is cheaper than Sharma! Why on earth?

I make a verification call to the travel agency.

– Tell me, is it possible to change the tour from November 1 to a week for two from Sharma to Hurghada?

– You can, but I warn you that the additional payment will be approximately half the price of your tour to Sharm (the average price today is 100-150 thousand rubles for two, depending on the class of accommodation – author)

– Why on earth is it so expensive?

“Yes, because you change everything,” the person on the other end of the line suddenly became angry. – And we have already incurred expenses and now we have to pay fines to Sharma hotels for canceling our reservations.

– But if it’s dangerous there, don’t they understand?!

– If it is dangerous there, then Article 14 of the 132nd Federal Law “On the Fundamentals of Tourism Activities in the Russian Federation” should apply to Egypt, as it does to Israel. Then the Egyptian side returns the money to us, and we return it to tourists. But since the law did not work, it means that it is safe in Egypt.

I’m testing this strange logic among those who are in Sharm right now by asking the same questions to the Egyptian guide and Russian tourists.

– Is it scary there? – I ask a Russian-speaking guide named Abdul Hamid.

“It’s unpleasant,” he admits. – I took a vacation and am going to my brother in Morocco for a month. It wasn’t me who decided it, but my mother begged me, she is very afraid for me. I don’t want to make her nervous.

“Yes, everything is fine, but they don’t take them to Israel,” answer the compatriots, who have been vacationing in Sharm for four days. “We were afraid when we were flying.” But everything is calm on the spot. Come visit us and see for yourself! The British, Germans and Italians fled, and it became very beautiful, there were places on the beach and sunbeds by the pool, you didn’t have to take a sunbed the night before.

According to summary statistics of the domestic tourism industry, during the autumn school holidays and November holidays, Egypt remains in the top sales for most tour operators, with 50% of tour packages sold to Sharm.