Cairo hotel sector to emerge from crisis stronger

Tensions between activists and the ruling military council in Egypt ahead of the scheduled November 28 parliamentary elections have led to further unrest in Cairo, but experts have said damage to Egypt's tourism industry is only short-term. 

"As the country is going through drastic changes in its structure and organisation, one cannot expect the establishment of a new democratic society of that size to be done overnight and without problems," Jalil Mekouar, managing director, Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, Middle-East & Africa, told Hotelier Middle East.

"All these events, as dramatic as they are, will of course have a short-term impact on tourism  - business and leisure - and therefore on hotel performance. However I continue to believe that in the long run, Egypt - Cairo in particular - will come out of this major crisis stronger," he added. 

Likewise, Fairmont Nile City vice president and general manager Frank Naboulsi said the publicity from the unrest could work to the advantage of its tourism industry. 

"I believe tourism will rebound to even stronger than it was before the unrest because people are interested [in Egypt], we've been in the media so much it's attracted a lot of interest."

Speaking at the Arabian Travel Market in London, Egypt's Minister of Tourism Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour said: "We are optimistic – a democratic society is an environment conducive to the growth of tourism.

"We are seeing optimistic signs in the short term. Egyptians have recovered ownership of their country."