Egypt latest: Tour operator suspends trips

Tour companies have reacted swiftly to ensure the safety of clients caught up in the growing political unrest in Cairo.

Intrepid Travel will cancel its trips in Egypt for the next two weeks and is encouraging travel agents to keep checking Intrepid’s Safe Page (www.intrepidtravel.com) for updates and information.

Intrepid has confirmed that all of its passengers in Egypt are safe and have been taken to a hotel near the airport in Cairo.

Intrepid Travel spokesperson Meg Koffel said, “We have already started to contact passengers now to make alternative arrangements.

“As a first preference we will offer passengers the option to defer their trip without any penalties, however if passengers are not able to defer their trip we will be flexible and offer refunds .

“We’ll continue to monitor the situation on the ground with updates from our Cairo based staff to ensure the safety of our passengers.”

Cox & Kings Australia, on behalf of Tempo Holidays and Cox & Kings Small Group Journeys, is also monitoring developments through its local suppliers and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs.

In a statement, the company said, “Our first priority is for the passengers whom we currently have in Egypt who we understand are all safe.

“We have taken steps through our local suppliers to relocate passengers from central Cairo to hotels in outlying areas of the city.

“Our local suppliers have also been working throughout the weekend to amend travel arrangements for our passengers as required, including assisting those who wish to leave the country.

“At this point, we are recommending that people who are about to travel do not proceed to Egypt within the next 14 days.

“Tempo Holidays clients who were booked to travel between now and the end of February may elect to defer or cancel their reservations and obtain a full refund for land and cruise costs.

“We are attempting to ascertain if the local airlines will impose cancellation conditions for domestic air services. These details will be advised when they become known.

“Passengers travelling from March 1 may be subject to brochure cancellation conditions should they wish to cancel. However, we will be reassessing this situation as soon as our local suppliers can make contact with the various operators concerned, and an accurate picture of the conditions in tourist areas and the state of the country becomes known.”

Adventure World has been in touch with all of the company’s passengers who are currently in Egypt, to ensure all are safe in the current climate of growing political unrest.

Adventure World is now in the process of contacting all passengers booked to travel to Egypt with the company in the near future, to discuss travel options such as changing itineraries to alternate destinations, or deferring trips to a later date.

“Our main priority is to ensure the utmost safety of our Australian clients and we are in ongoing contact with our tour operators and hotel properties in the country to ensure the safety of our guests,” said Andrew Mulholland, general manager, Adventure World.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has reissued its travel advice for Egypt and advises Australians not to travel to that country due to the ongoing civil unrest.