Luxor killings drive visitors from Egypt

The massacre last week of 58 tourists in Luxor by Muslim fundamentalists has devastated occupancy levels in Egyptian hotels.

And the scramble by tour operators to fly clients out and cancel further inbound flights looks set to knock back hotel business for several months at least.

Khaled Omary, duty general manager at the Sheraton Luxor, said occupancy at the 295-bedroom hotel had plummeted to 35%, against a norm of 80-85%.

The hotel is highly dependent on leisure visitors, some 60% from Britain, but Omary was hopeful that things would be back to normal within two to three months.

Occupancy levels at the Luxor Hilton have also fallen to around 30%. Group co-ordinator Joseph Gares said he would normally expect 50-60% of the 261 bedrooms to be in use in November. He was looking for a gradual improvement from the end of this month.

In the north of the country, only 52% of the 523 bedrooms at the Forte Grand Pyramids in Giza were occupied last Friday. Sales manager Sharif Khalifa said this was 40% down on normal levels.

While the problem faced by Egyptian hotels was severe, Khalifa added that not all had lost out completely.

Remaining groups of tourists destined for Luxor were staying put in their hotels, while parties in Luxor were being moved to resorts at Hurghada on the Red Sea.

Khalifa has been reassured by some travel agents that normal service will resume from January.