Discover Egypt’s commercial director Philip Breckner told TTG that they had received stop notices from hotels and Nile cruises for October 2022, which is the peak season for visiting the historic sites in Cairo and along the Nile.

“We have been getting stop notices from hotels and Nile cruises and not just for this October – I’m more concerned about next October,” he said.

“We’re coming across stop notices because all the other countries, except the UK and one or two others, are sending people to Egypt in full flow. We can’t fulfil the bookings – it’s a frustrating situation.”

Although Egypt was finally moved off the red list earlier this week, the Foreign Office (FCDO) continues to advise against all non-essential travel to the country due to Covid-19 risks.

Breckner said that a majority of Discover Egypt’s clients had “rolled over” their bookings after trips were cancelled due to the pandemic over the past 18 months.

“We’re fortunate as a company that we’ve managed to keep business,” he added. “People still want to go but hotels are taking bookings from lots of other countries.”