Jack Straw: Be alert, but don't cancel trips to Egypt
Egypt-UK, Local, 7/25/2005

The British newspaper The Independent reported today that British tourists who were planning to spend their holidays in Egypt were being encouraged to stick to their plans by the British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw. The paper reported that Straw "went out of his way to praise Egypt as a stable country with effective law enforcement."

According to the paper the Foreign Secretary's advice to travelers was "Be aware of the risk, then make up your own minds'."

The Independent also reported that British tour operators were not expecting a large number of cancellations in the aftermath of the attacks in Sharm EI-Sheik. It went on to say that:

"Phillip Breckner, director of the tour firm Discover Egypt based in London, said he had 300 people flying to Egypt tomorrow and only one had cancelled. He had even been emailed by one tourist due to fly to Sharm EI-Sheik who said: 'We are still very much looking forward to the trip to Egypt and want to support the Red Sea resorts as much as we can with our tourism trade.'"

The paper added that a spokesman for the Federation of Tour Operators said that his members would continue to travel to Egypt, so long as the Foreign Office had not explicitly advised Britons not to travel to the country.

In related news, Jacques Maillot, founder of the one of the leading French tour operators, Nouvelle Frontiere, argued that the best way to confront terrorism in the aftermath of the bombings that targeted Sharm EI-Sheik and London was to continue to travel to those cities.

Mr. Maillot said in statements to the press last night that the terrorists needed to know that their operations would not cause the world to bow down to their policies of shock and horror. He affirmed that the best way to confront terrorism and terrorist plots was the continuation of travel to Sharm EI-Sheik.

He added that Europeans have become more accustomed to terrorism then in past years when they would flee any area which had been a target of a terrorist attack, such as in the aftermath of the 1997 Luxor attacks, which led to a loss of an estimated 1 billion dollar in tourism revenue. Mr. Maillot's statements were supported by Renee Marc Sheckly, President of the French Tour Operators Association, who said that travelers and tourists have come to understand that no country is immune to the scourge of terrorism.

Mr. Sheckly added that, according to his experience, countries that have suffered terrorist attacks have been able to quickly restore the flow of tourists

Previous Stories:
  Terror hits Sharm el-Sheikh, at least 75 people dead   (7/23/2005)
  Sharm el-Sheikh explosions target tourist area   (7/23/2005)
  Sorour receives British minister of state   (6/15/2005)
  Amr Salama: Egypt, Ukraine cooperation to manfacture two satellites   (5/19/2005)
  British Gas sees high potentials for natural gas in Egypt   (3/19/2005)

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