After Turkey, where next for Egyptian travelers

Renad Ghanem CAIRO — Turkey was one of the top travel destinations for many Egyptians, but after the recent failed military coup, Egyptian travelers, the same as others from around the world, have been forced to cancel trips to Turkey. Some travelers were luckily able to get a refund on their planned holidays, but many have been unsuccessful due to non-refundable reservations. Egyptian pharmacist, Ahmed Hamza, who recently canceled his honeymoon to Istanbul after the coup, said he lost the total cost of the trip. “My fiancée and I booked the honeymoon for the end of August in Istanbul, as we always wanted, but unfortunately, we canceled the trip due the current political situation, and we lost all the trip costs due the cancellation. Two of my friends also faced the same thing,” he said. “We chose Turkey because its prices were fair, and it’s only few hours away of Cairo. It’s a Muslim country, so there are no worries about many things, especially food.” “Because of the cancellation and the money that we lost we will not be able to travel to another destination abroad, so we will go to Sharm El Sheikh.” “Security comes first. I don’t think it has settled in Turkey. It’s not obvious. We never been there before but we will not go any time soon,” he said. Another Egyptian, Aya Hifnawy, who had to cancel her holiday to Turkey was luckier than Hamza, and only lost the deposit of her booked honeymoon. Her second choices are now Beirut and Dubai. “We were supposed to travel to Istanbul in September for the honeymoon, but after what happened, we were forced to cancel like many people did,” Hifnawy said. “I’m thankful that we only paid the deposit, and that we are safe. It’s less than half of the total cost because the travel agency owners are my friends, so they tried to helped us as much as they could. Travel agencies are facing a tough situation because Istanbul is one of the top choices for many people, especially for honeymoons. Prices are fair, and it’s close to Egypt.” Hifnawy said that she would keep an eye on the situation in Turkey to see if it returns to normal so that she can return once more to the country. “For now we will book our honeymoon to Beirut or Dubai because we want a close country, not like the far east,” Hifnawy said. Another Egyptian, Salah Madbouly, who was planning to travel with his wife and children, was extremely lucky to get refunded the full amount of his booking. “I lost zero pounds due the cancellations. I canceled at the moment they announced the news about the military coup because it was hard to expect what’s next. Security comes first,” he said. “I was going to travel during August with my wife and my children but I’m also thankful that we didn’t travel. Who knows what would happened in the future.” “We already booked another summer trip to Barcelona. We went to Istanbul many times and we hope things get better soon,” he said. Travel advisor, Ahmed El Menshawi, said that many people make travel bookings without looking at the cancellation and refund policy of their tickets. “People look for the cheapest prices. Usually cheap prices have restricted rules, many of them are non-refundable. To be on the safe side you have to book a refundable ticket and be able to change bookings. Even if it’s a much higher fare, it gives more flexibility for changes and refunds,” Ahmed said.