The Egyptian Tourism Ministry has ordered its offices in Europe to increase the promotion of Egyptian tourism this summer in an effort to capitalize on the Greek crisis, according to Daily News Egypt .
A ministry official reportedly said that orders were given to Egypt's foreign offices which are affiliated to the Tourism Activation Authority to step up the promotion of Egypt's summer tourism, especially tourist destinations on the Red Sea and South Sinai.
The ongoing economic crisis in Greece could potentially benefit Egypt's summer beach tourism, as the country is now in the middle of finalizing proposals to secure its third bailout from its creditors and prevent its exit from the eurozone. The proposals could possibly include imposing greater taxes on Greece's tourism sector.
This tax increase would shift the tourism waves away from Greece and toward its summer tourism competitors Egypt and Turkey, according to the ministry official.
He added that Egypt’s low prices give it a bigger advantage over Turkey, adding that tourists' average cost per night in Egypt increased last year to about $74 while Turkey stood at $91 per night.
The official also mentioned that Turkey would be expected to benefit most from Greece’s possible tourism tax imposition, but the situation could still prove to be promising to Egypt given that European tourism already represents an estimated 72 percent of Egypt's total annual tourism flow.
Greece had previously offered to increase taxes on the tourism sector to 13.5 percent in its recent negotiations but the country voted "No" in a July 5 referendum on the terms of the international bailout.
Now, it all depends on whether or not the increased tourism tax will be included in Greece's new bailout plan and whether or not the European Union and the International Monetary Fund will approve the new proposals.
Egypt's beach tourism is already expecting to see improvements this summer according to the chairman of the Investors Association in Marsa, Alam Adel Rady. These improvements could result from of increased tourist flow from Russia due to its currency's improved conditions against the dollar and Tunisia's recent attacks driving European tourists to Egypt instead.