Guidelines

Airlines

More flights to Egypt

EgyptAir has this month decided to launch new charter flights from Naples in southern Italy and Verona, northern Italy, to the Red Sea. It is expected that the number of Italian tourists visiting Egypt will rise to 25,000 a month thanks to the new routes. Italy is currently the single largest source of tourists visiting Egypt, followed by Germany.

EgyptAir has also decided to organise a direct weekly flight from Larnaca in Cyprus to Sharm El-Sheikh in south Sinai every Tuesday, so as to accommodate the growing number of tourists coming from Cyprus to Sinai, especially those visiting Saint Catherine's. There are already regular flights from Larnaca to Cairo operating on Mondays and Fridays.

Austrian Airlines will also operate an additional flight on the Cairo-Vienna route, thus increasing the number of regular flights from four to five. Flights are now scheduled to operate on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays using Airbus 320As and 321As.

Fly from Cairo

www.flyfromcairo.com is a new site which lists special air fares from Egypt to destinations all over the world. It covers 622 destinations in Europe, the Americas, the Far East, Africa, Australia and the Middle East. Flights are offered directly by such companies as Austrian Airlines, KLM, and Swiss International, and the site also lists travel agents which can handle bookings and confirmations. The site also covers domestic flights within Egypt.

Hotels

Free holidays

AL-GOUNA hotels and resorts are making travel trade professionals from around the world an offer they cannot refuse: industry insiders will be able to enjoy a free holiday between now and the end of October. This offer is open to tour operators, travel agents, and airline staff, and covers complimentary rooms: half-board supplement is 24 euros per person per night in five-star hotels, and 18 Euros per person per night in all other hotels. The offer is valid for unlimited visits with a maximum of one week each till the end of October.

Additional benefits include VIP treatment and 50 per cent discount on all health club facilities.

Travel Lighter

BUSINESS travellers who spend a lot of time moving from one country to another may benefit from the new business Travelite programme launched by Starwood Hotels and Resorts worldwide. Travelite is an initiative aimed at helping executives reduce the amount of luggage they need to take on a business trip so as to comply with the tighter regulations imposed by airlines on carry-on baggage. The programme offers laundry, pressing and dry cleaning service for guests who will return to the hotel within 60 days, allowing them to leave their clothes to be cleaned and placed in their rooms ready for their next visit. Multi-purpose adaptors are also available for use during executive stay, meaning guests don't have to carry around additional heavy equipment to run a laptop, but can borrow all they need from the hotel.

Events

MTF count down

THE FOURTH session of Egypt's Mediterranean Travel Fair (MTF) is scheduled to run from 16 to 18 September at the Cairo International Conference Centre (CICC) in Nasr City.

The MTF is an exhibition dedicated to the international travel and tourist industry and covers the whole of the Eastern Mediterranean region, including Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and Cyprus.

This year, 50 countries are expected to participate, including a majority of Arab states, Spain, Russia, India, Malaysia, Turkey and Cyprus.

Alongside the exhibition, the MTF runs an extensive seminar programme at which travel experts and tourism officials address issues such as e-travel, the environment, air traffic and so forth.

The event is organised by the British company Reed Travel Exhibitions under the auspices of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism.

From Giza and back

FIVE hundred racing drivers from Egypt, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Spain, as well as a number of Middle East countries, will soon be assembling to compete over a distance of some 3307 kilometres stretching from Giza to Abu Simbel in Aswan and then back again to Giza. The event is the Pharaohs Rally, which is scheduled to be held from 27 September to 5 October.

Around 130 cars, 100 trucks and 100 motorcycles will take part in the event.

The Pharaohs Rally will celebrate its 20th anniversary this year. It has figured on the World's Cup Agenda since 2000 and is held annually in Egypt under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Tourism.

There are seven stages making up the rally. The race will start from the Sphinx on the Giza plateau, passing through the oases of Farafra, Dakhla, and Kharga in the Western Desert, then east of Owainat, and through Toshka to pause at Abu Simbel in Aswan, before the competitors turn round and head back to the Pyramids area.

Travel news

Tour and cure

IF YOU are interested in natural healing and want to know about Egypt's potential in this area, then you should pick up a copy of the book, Egypt: Curative Tourism recently published by the Ministry of Tourism.

The book highlights the most important locations in Egypt for developing this type of tourism, including Helwan, Fayoum, the Red Sea, Safaga, Bahariya oasis, Siwa, the New Valley, Aswan and Abu Simbel. These sites are endowed with unique natural elements, such as mineral water, black sand, or the mud of the coral reefs, in addition to their warm sun, dry climate, and access to medicinal herbs which may help in curing different ailments.

The guidebook also describes the touristic and historical significance of each site, access conditions by land and air, accommodation facilities, specialised cure centres, hospitals and various important contact numbers.

The book is published in Arabic, but will soon appear in English, French, German and Italian translations.

New fees

FOR the past 15 years, travellers have been allowed to enter the mosques of Sultan Hassan and Refai in Islamic Cairo for free. No more. Recently, the Supreme Council of Antiquities re-imposed entry fees on the area around the two mosques -- a unique historical site that attracts a large number of travellers. Entrance fees are LE12 for tourists and LE6 for students. Egyptians and Arabs may still enter the area free of charge.

Visa extensions

GOOD news for charter travellers. EU citizens arriving aboard charter flights will be able to obtain entry visas that authorise them to stay in Egypt for three months on condition that their travel agents submit full details and warrantees relating to the group's activities throughout their stay in Egypt. Charter travellers were previously only granted visas for a maximum of one week.