I have just come back from a weeks visit to Cairo, Egypt where I was conducting an audit of a spa that Raison d’Etre has an agreement with.

Having been in Cairo and other parts of Egypt before it was very interesting to see how the tourism industry has been significantly affected by the recent ‘peoples revolution’.  As you would expect tourism has been decimated by the recent events and hotel occupancies as well as spas are suffering for business. 

But things are starting to brighten up!!  Tourism numbers over the last month are slowly increasing, notably for the Sinai Peninsula resort areas, flights are starting to fill up and the overall outlook – as seen from the eyes of Hotel General Managers and Owners is very optimistic.  Nearly everyone I spoke to expects a steady increase in tourism over the next few months with Egypt returning to normal tourism numbers after Ramadan which is in August.  Fingers crossed!!

What has been really interesting to observe in my week in Cairo is the overall positive and optimistic attitude of hotel and spa staff.  Cairo needs business, that is obvious, yet with everything that has gone on staff retain a smile and a genuinely positive outlook for the future… not only for the tourism industry in Egypt, but also for Egypt in general. 

//Michael Clarke