Will Thomas Cook's collapse have long-term impact on Egypt's tourism sector?
Egypt's tourist industry was just getting back on its feet when Thomas Cook collapsed, producing more uncertainty in the sector.
Egypt’s struggling tourism sector is assessing the impact of the collapse last week of the British travel firm Thomas Cook, which brings some quarter million tourists to the country every year.
Thomas Cook, the world’s oldest travel firm, ran hotels, resorts and airlines for 19 million travelers a year in 16 countries. On Sept. 22, the heavily indebted company met lenders and creditors in London to reach a last-ditch deal to keep the company afloat. The efforts failed, and the company collapsed the next day.
Hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers around the globe were stranded, including 50,000 in Greece, 4,500 in Tunisia and 8,000 in Turkey. Thomas Cook operator Blue Sky Group said that 1,600 tourists were stranded at the Red Sea resort of Hurghada.
In Egypt's tourism sector, many experts believe that the negative impact will be short term, as other agencies — mainly German and British — will quickly fill the gap left by Thomas Cook.
