Demand for Egypt falls as UK tourists head to Spain

Flight search engine, WhichBudget.com, reports a 30% nosedive in overall UK flight searches to Egypt due to the present political unrest in the country.

The situation in Egypt follows on from recent conflicts in Tunisia, also a popular tourist destination. According to WhichBudget.com, overall flight searches to Tunisia plunged 50% since the crisis began.

Martino Matijevic, CEO and Founder at WhichBudget.com comments; “With further protests planned to take place on the streets of Cairo, and with so much uncertainty about what will happen next in the country, it is understandable that holidaymakers are choosing to cancel or change their holiday plans.

The impact of this instability on Egypt’s tourism industry could be huge if the situation escalates and will almost certainly result in a decrease on the number of flight searches for summer 2011. However, as a perennial favourite, Egypt is well placed to bounce back quickly once stability returns.”

WhichBudget.com has noticed a significant increase in the number of flights searches for the Canary Islands and Spanish destinations during January 2011.

Matijevic confirms that “Malaga, Alicante and Faro in particular have all experienced a surge in the number of searches since the protests in Tunisia and Egypt began. However, Barcelona saw the largest rise in January flight searches at 22% followed by Tenerife with an increase of 12%.”