NEW YORK -- Egypt, despite ups and downs driven by political
events, remains a kingpin of Middle East travel, a place that
travelers want to see at least once in a lifetime.
And, according to Samir Khalil, president of New York-based Misr
Travel, the country will offer visitors "a whole new world of
discovery."
The basic product, focused on the Nile Valley and its sites of
Luxor, Aswan and Abu Simbel, has been enhanced with choices like
the Nasser Lake cruises and a new Nubian museum in Aswan.
Additionally, the Red Sea coast of the Sinai Peninsula now offers
fine resorts from the air gateways of Sharm-el-Sheikh and
Hurghada.
Also, from Sharm-el-Sheikh, travelers can drive along the Gulf
of Aqaba, crossing from Taba into Israel at Eilat.
Coming up are visits to new archaeological finds around the
western desert oases of Kharga, Dakhla and Bahariyya, now
accessible overland from Cairo, said Khalil, as well as the more
tropical Siwa oasis that is reached from Alexandria (where
archaeologists are focusing on the excavations offshore at the site
of Cleopatra's palace).
Khalil looks forward to a firmer peace in order establish what
he calls a new Riviera, linking Taba in Egypt, Eilat in Israel and
Aqaba in Jordan.
In addition, tour operators see a healthy bookings outlook for
the historical attractions of the ancient Persian kingdom, even
with ongoing U.S.-Iran antagonisms.
Also, coming up in the Middle East tourism tapestry is the Gulf
region, mainly focused on Dubai, which has successfully positioned
itself as a regional cruise hub as well as a desert resort offering
a deluxe tourism infrastructure.
Finally, 2000 will offer travelers a peek behind the tourism
veil of Saudi Arabia. Lindblad Special Expeditions, Peck Judah
Travel Service and Peter Voll Associates have programs scheduled
for the new millennium year, and all hope the kingdom might develop
as the decade's darling of exotic regional destinations.