Agencies to remove Luxor from their travel destinations

AlWatan News reported that the head of the Chamber of Travel Agencies in Upper Egypt Tharwat Agami declared Luxor was re-evaluated as a travel destination, due to continuous lack of security, the kidnapping of tourists and the closure of several temples and monuments.

Currently, only 8% of Luxor’s hotels are occupied. Agamy described what is happening as a “depression”, as 80% of Luxor’s hotel staff are being let go and Egypt has become an “adventure destination”, rather than a touristic one.

AlWatan News stated that charter-flights to Luxor were stopped by German, Swedish, Austrian and English travel agencies, as the demand decreased immensely.

Additionally, tourists are not planning to visit Egypt in the summer, due to the frequent power cuts and energy problems within touristic cities, according to Ali Ghoneim, member of the Federation of Tourism Chambers.