According to the latest data, it appears that Russian tour bookings for Cairo and Sharm el-Sheikh, popular tourist destinations in Egypt, have witnessed a 14% decrease in January compared to the previous year.

The decrease in the desirability of vacations in the North African country, which was previously highly favored by Russians seeking to escape the cold and freezing temperatures, is mainly due to geopolitical circumstances in the surrounding area. In the last six months, it has been negatively impacted by the intensification of the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as attacks by Houthi rebels on commercial ships in the Red Sea.

According to Russian tour operators, holidays in Egypt have also become much pricier due to the persistently high Russian ruble to US dollar exchange rate, in addition to security concerns.

Russian travel professionals who organize group tours abroad, say that the current exchange rate of 90 rubles per dollar is unfavorable for Egypt. The experts emphasize that the flight time to Egypt and various other countries has extended by up six hours due to urgent the Westerns sanctions imposed on Russia, resulting in much higher airline ticket prices.

Furthermore, there is presently an acute scarcity of direct flights that cannot be filled by either Egyptian or Russian air carriers. As a result, airlines are compelled to demand much higher air fares.

The combination of these different aspects has caused a package vacation in Egypt to move up from ‘affordable’ category to ‘moderate’ price bracket. As a result, the cost of a one-week trip for two people in one of the country’s resorts has increased by as much as $2,000 and up, in US dollar equivalent.

Despite the unstable geopolitical situation in the region and Egypt falling out of favor with holidaymakers from Russia, Russian tour operators report the increasing desirability of alternative Middle Eastern destinations, with the United Arab Emirates being clearly at the forefront, and noticeable recent increase in demand for tours to Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain.

According to Russian travel and tourism sector data, there has been a 77% increase in international bookings for the upcoming summer season, compared to the number of bookings for summer 2023.

Türkiye continues to be Russians’ top choice among preferred destinations. The average cost of a two-person tour in Türkiye has also increased by 20%,$2,300). A comparable hoiday to Egypt would cost about the same, but all things considered, Russian holidaymakers prefer Türkiye over the North African country.