The pyramids of Egypt, cruises on the Nile, the temples and the desert of Jordan have experienced a real tourist resurgence among the French since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic. In October, the halt was brutal for these two destinations closest to the Gaza Strip. ” It is very simplesummarizes Raouf Ben Slimane, creator of Thalasso n° 1 and Ôvoyages, over the past ten days, as the crisis has worsened, we have noticed cancellations and above all a real drop in reservations (of the order of 80% compared to 2022 over the same period) on these two countries close to the conflict zone »he indicates, specifying that of his 335,000 annual customers, 10,000 go to these two countries.
“It’s already been more than a fortnight since tourists stopped rushing to this type of destination”confirms for his part Stéphane Nicolas, director of animation for the Selectour network, who says he hopes for “reports” to other destinations.
“It is clear that on Jordan, we do not expect a triumphant year,” recognizes for his part Guillaume Linton, CEO of the tour operator Asia, who has already noted a 60% drop in reservations to this country over the last three weeks compared to order intake for the month of September .
“People are waiting”
Regarding cancellations of trips already purchased, the phenomenon is less pronounced. “From All Saints’ Day until the end of December, they were 10%”indicates Mr. Linton, who also counts on a fallback effect towards countries like India, Thailand or Vietnam. “We see everything, adds Helmut Stuckelschweiger, boss of Top of Travel, one of the leaders in travel to Jordan. Tuesday, October 24, a couple was supposed to leave for Amman from Pau, the husband refused to board, his wife left. »
“During the All Saints’ Day holidays, those who had booked in Egypt leave, including with children”, nuance Bruno Abenin, sales director at Travel Evasion. Over the whole of 2023, the number of Egyptian stays sold by its establishment should break a record more than fifteen years old, with 30,000 customers on site. But the prosperous period has come to a halt since the assassination of Dominique Bernard in Arras, and the anxiety-provoking context which set in after the bomb threats at the airports. “People are waiting”he regrets, noting, since these events, “a cooling of sales” and a drop of around 40% in reservations to Egypt for departures in April 2024.
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