Thomas Cook records record interest in Egypt

Egyptian property Report 14th August 2008

Europes second biggest tour operator today announced that bookings for holidays in Egypt next winter and summer were up on this year’s numbers. Whilst the strong euro seems to be putting many people of European holidays the demand in Egypt continues to rise. This summer’s bookings to Egypt were up 15% from last year and bookings to Egypt this winter are up 25%.

Egypt: A Buoyant Market

The Egyptian Tourist Authority has spent heavily on marketing campaigns in Europe and the US to attract greater numbers of tourists and the campaign looks to have been largely successful. A parallel campaign run throughout the Middle East highlighted the attraction of Egypt to Middle Eastern visitors and resulted in an 89% increase in visitors from Qatar alone.

London based DDB International was awarded the contract to handle all of Egypt’s tourism marketing with a budget set at $40 million a year. The aim of the campaign is to achieve the government’s stated target of 16 million visitors per year, up from 8 million in 2004.

Almost two thirds of visitors were from Europe and many highlighted the great value of holidays in Egypt where many holiday items were less than half the price of established destinations such as Spain and France.

The Daily Telegraph recently highlighted the year round warm climate and the growing popularity of Egypt as a winter sun and beach destination and suggested that investors in property in Egypt could reap substantial returns as Egypt property is low priced yet offers extremely good rental yields.

Michael Kent, Managing Director of Egyptian property specialists Arabian Sands, commented, “Egypt is entering a new phase of economic development with fewer restrictions and concrete government plans to improve the ageing transport infrastructure. Combine this with the most spectacular historical sites and a year round warm climate and all the conditions for serious growth in tourism numbers are there.”

Investors wishing to take advantage of these conditions are urged to consider the Tranquilla Town Apartments in Hurghada currently being marketed by Arabian Sands. Comprising of one, two and three bedroom residential units, the apartments which were built in 1996, are currently undergoing major upgrading to the highest European standards. Once the sale of each apartment is agreed, the upgrading work will commence and the property will be ready to use in just six months.

“The beauty of this investment is that not only do you get a fantastic location but also you’ll be ahead of the game and earning rental income in six months” added Mr Kent.

Prices for an apartment start from only £24,600 – please contact info@arabiansands.com for more details or look here