Egypt Banks On Charters To Vault Indian Outbound

Bhisham Mansukhani -Mumbai

Egypt Tourism is banking on outbound charters to multiply Indian outbound to its destination and the country’s tourism minister is already in dialogue with an unspecified, India-based major tour operator to begin charter operation soon, though the time frame remains open to speculation.

Egypt Tourism set up its office in India in April 2005, riding on the back of a relatively modest 50,000 incoming Indian tourists. The growth in the first half of 2005, claims Samy Mahmoud, tourism counsellor, Egyptian Consulate Tourism Office has already touched 20 per cent and he hopes the numbers will double before the end of the year.

In contrast with some of Egypt’s most evolved markets, India has a long way to go. Of the eight million tourists Egypt received in 2004, 60 per cent were from Western Europe. “Italy and Germany have been two of our biggest markets. We received more than one million tourists from Italy last year and nine hundred thousand from Germany. So obviously, India has some way to go. The reason for the yawning gap is outbound charter and I believe there is a lot more numbers to come from India. We receive, on average, about sixty charter flights a week from Germany and Italy. Now, imagine the numbers we could receive from India at even half that frequency of flights. Charters will add capacity and bring down the costs by more than 60 per cent, particularly the airfare,” Mahmoud said.

The airfare is a critical factor since it does encourage or inhibit travel to any destination, sometimes irrespective of how great the destination may be. “With Aircraft Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices continuing to inch up in direct proportion to the price of oil, airlines will have to keep increasing fares and while charter companies will have to do the same, they will have a considerable price advantage. From US$ 500 down to $200, charters will change all equations,” Mahmoud asserted. Another challenge is the low awareness level among Indians about Egyptian destinations. “Egypt has more than the Pyramids, the Sphinx, tombs, temples and cruise. The golf courses, resorts, diving, shopping, holy family trek etc. need to be showcased. Just 15 per cent go to Hurghada and Sharma-el-Sheikh, both of which are exotic beach resorts,” Mahmoud explains.

Mahmoud is not alone in his grand ambitions to grow the Indian market. He has been receiving complete cooperation from the government. “The Indian office is one of the three Asian offices; the other two being Tokyo and Beijing. Egypt’s tourism minister has been in dialogue with certain Indian tour operators regarding the potential incipience of outbound charter flights. Also, in May this year, the foreign affairs minister has made it possible for visas to be issued on the same day in Mumbai or Delhi, as well as visas on arrival within an hour at Cairo Airport, especially for groups,” he says.