Lowe Bell has been called in by the Egyptian Ambassador to the UK,
Adal Aljazzar, to help to restore tourist confidence in the country.
The agency was briefed on Monday to give the embassy and the tourist
office advice on how to handle the tourist backlash following the Luxor
massacre in which six British people were killed.
All major British tour operators have now stopped sending tourists to
Luxor, in accordance with Foreign Office advice. As Luxor is the
principal destination for most Egyptian holidays, the majority of tours
have been completely cancelled. Some diving tours are still operating to
coastal districts unaffected by the terrorist threat.
On Thursday, the Egyptian Minister for Tourism, Dr Mamdouh el Beltagui
met the UK’s Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) and its
European counterparts.
ABTA’s head of corporate affairs Keith Betton said that he would be
trying to convince el Beltagui to come to London and meet major travel
agents and tour operators. He added: ’The way victims were killed will
stay in people’s minds. Changing that perception will be the mother of
all PR tasks.’
