Tour Groups Team Up to Spur Egypt Revival

In an industry first, the two major tour operator trade groups, along with ASTA, are cooperating in an effort to jumpstart the tour market for Egypt and the Middle East.

The presidents of ASTA and tour operator groups NTA and the USTOA are heading a delegation of industry leaders on a six-day Restoring the Journey: Support Travel to Egypt and Jordan tour that departed on April 22.

The trip provides an avenue for industry leaders to reach out to the region, said Lisa Simon, president of NTA, which spearheaded the program. Tourism to Egypt and Jordan has slumped since pro-democracy demonstrations in Cairo earlier this year and the subsequent overthrow of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.

NTA partnered on the tour with the Egyptian Tourist Authority, the Jordan Tourism Board and the USTOA because, as Simon said, “the best way to show that the tourism industry cares is to go there. We want to see the destinations for ourselves, meet with Egyptian and Jordanian tourism officials, and then share our story when we return.”
 
Helping to restore business
Tourism to Egypt has not yet recovered from civil turmoil in January, noted USTOA president Terry Dale. Jordan and other nearby destinations also have suffered.
 
“We want to assist the 2 million Egyptians who work in tourism-related jobs, and we seek to minimize the impact of recent events on travel to neighboring Jordan,” Dale said. “In doing so, we hope also to restore business for U.S. tour operators and travel agents.”

This is the first time the NTA and the USTOA have cooperated in an effort to revive the market for a destination, Simon told Travel Market Report. However the two groups have long worked together on government relations and in efforts to open up travel to Cuba.

USTOA chairman John Stachnik is a past chairman of NTA and has long been involved in both organizations. Stachnik is president of Mayflower Tours.

Top names join the tour
Restoring the Journey includes visits in Egypt to the Pyramids at Giza, the Egyptian Museum and Tahrir Square and in Jordan to the Citadel, the Archeology Museum and the ancient city of Petra.

The delegation includes ASTA president Tony Gonchar, Simon and Dale; Cathy Greteman, chair of NTA’s board; Kevin Ford, CFO, Globus family of brands; Shannon Stowell, president, Adventure Travel Trade Association; Leslie Koch, social media consultant; Marie-Rose Lohier, senior program manager, Academic Travel Abroad;  Malaka Hilton, owner, Admiral Travel, and  Larry Larsen, owner, Ed-Ventures.