Britain sends security team to Egypt's tourist resorts to assess terror threat

Britain sends security team to Egypt's tourist resorts to assess terror threat

A team of experts visit Sharm el-Sheikh to ensure safety for thousands of British tourists

By Damien McElroy
7:52PM BST 01 Apr 2014

Sharm el-Sheikh 

Britain has sent a security services team to assess the vulnerability of the major Egyptian tourist resort of 

Sharm el-Sheikh to an increasing terrorism threat, the Telegraph has learned.

As thousands of holiday makers prepare to fly out to the southern Sinai region for Easter holidays, the government has also put its travel advice to the resorts in the area under close review.

The security team – believed to include members of the British armed forces – made the trip after a tourist bus was hit by a roadside bomb in Taba, near the Israel border, killing the driver and three South Koreans in mid-February.

The attack by Sinai-based jihadists marked a dramatic shift in the campaign against the Egyptian regime and led to some tour operators withdrawing their customers from Sharm el-Sheikh.

Thomas Cook and Tui flew hundreds of German tourists home after Berlin changed its travel advice. The British Foreign Office adjusted its advice to tourists in the aftermath of the incident to sanctioning travel only within the Sharm el-Sheikh security perimeter barrier.

But since then the British security team has made its visit and Egypt's government believes it has satisfied safety concerns.

On Tuesday the Egyptian ambassador to London appealed on the government to resist pressure to change its advice for travellers, even though he conceded the terrorist threat within his country was growing in the run-up to presidential elections in May.

Ashraf Elkholy told the Telegraph that he believes the British team's on-the-ground assessment broadly endorsed the Egyptian security cordon thrown up around the resorts.

"We have had a team from the security forces of Britain in the tourist areas to monitor the measures and see what measures are in place that are satisfactory," Mr Elkholy said. "The security team has been there and we have cooperated and we hope that the decision taken will be the right one.

"Tourism is for the benefit of the Egyptian economy and the British traveller as an affordable and close destination."

Whitehall officials have said that no change in the position in terms of travel advice would be announced imminently.

"In light of the Taba incident we wanted to ensure we had the right information," an official said. "We will be looking at the situation very close and if anything necessitated a change we would act very quickly."

The roadside bomb attack near Taba was claimed by Ansar al-Jerusalem, an al-Qaeda insurgent group.

Islamist groups have intensified attacks since the Egyptian military overthrew the Muslim Brotherhood's President Mohammed Morsi in July, facing down bloody protests as it installed a caretaker government.

Having deposed the directly elected president and ratified a new constitution, that government is preparing to elect a new president next month.

With the head of the military, Field Marshal Abdelfattah el-Sisi the overwhelming favourite to win the vote, dissident groups are expected to target the elections.

"What we have to expect during this procedure is an increase in terrorist action as they have to prove themselves and unfortunately Egyptians and non-Egyptians will be the targets of this," Mr Elkholy said.

George Readings of the security analysts Stirling Assynt said attacks on tourist targets signalled a shift in the terrorist focus from the Egyptian military to the overall stability of the economy. Given Egypt's struggling economic performance, inflicting damage on tourist industry would knock out one of the most lucrative parts of the economy.

"We expect a major shift in the Jihadist logic that will see them increase their attacks on the tourist sector after the polls," he said. "They will want to undermine el-Sisi's new administration and will be aware that their current tactic of targeting the security forces has not had the effect they had hoped. The emphasis will therefore shift to the economically crucial travel industry both in the Sinai and Egypt proper. The southern Sinai resorts are heavily guarded but were struck in the 2000s and are often associated with the army and the old regime."

Large operators such as Thomas Cook and Tui are still providing package tours to the area.

Bob Atkinson of Travel Supermarket, the price comparison site for holiday bookings, said the operators were tied to government advice by contractual obligations.

"We've seen suppressed demand for a destination that until three years ago was experiencing rapid growth and outperforming the overall market," he said. "It's quite a dilemma for the big tour companies which have a commercial deals on a country by country basis with the destinations. They can weigh up a pan-European approach but they will still have obligations to the hoteliers and aircraft seats booked that can't be deployed elsewhere."

@http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/10737966/Britain-sends-security-team-to-Egypts-tourist-resorts-to-assess-terror-threat.html 

India to launch mega cultural fest in Egypt

India to launch mega cultural fest in Egypt

India's Ambassador to Egypt Navdeep Suri

Cairo: Unfazed by political unrest in Egypt, India will launch the second edition of a mega cultural extravaganza, including a Bollywood musical, to showcase vibrant bilateral ties and make the relationship more dynamic. 

"I think a festival like this gets a lot of visibility and demonstrates that India has taken a major initiative here. That generates goodwill, both at the official level and amongst the public," India's Ambassador to Egypt Navdeep Suri told PTI ahead of the "India by the Nile" festival this week. 

The festival, running from April 1-20, will have a grand opening with Bollywood Love Story- A Musical at the Opera House from the April 3 to 6, and will see more than 35 Indian dancers performing to the much-loved music of Indian cinema. 

The musical will also travel to three major Egyptian cities namely Alexandria, Hurghada and Luxor. The festival is being held for the second consecutive year in Egypt. 

Suri said events like these make the relationship between one of the leading emerging economies, India, and the largest country in the Middle East, Egypt, more "dynamic and vibrant". 

Asked about the timing of the festival with political unrest in Egypt, Suri said, "We are aware, of course, about the various incidents of violence but as residents of Egypt, we also see the extent to which daily life continues normally." 

"We have always enjoyed close ties with Egypt and there is a genuine fondness for Indian culture amongst the Egyptian people. But we can't get complacent and take things for granted. The festival is part of the embassy's pro-active approach to reach out to the Egyptian public and to promote cultural understanding," he said. 

Suri said Bollywood was quite popular in Egypt and for this reason a number of Bollywood-themed events were planned in the festival, including the big Bollywood-style musical and the participation of Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar. 

"We are keen to convey a more composite picture of Indian culture, to tell our Egyptian friends that there is more to India than Bollywood. And so we have Kathak dance, Rajasthani foil music, conversations among writers, cuisine and much more," he said.

The Ambassador stressed that India stands to gain from engaging with Egypt by helping it build institutions of democracy and investing in the economic sector.

"We have a number of economic cooperation projects in the pipeline and work continuously to enhance trade and investment flows," he said.

@ http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/india-to-launch-mega-cultural-fest-in-egypt_921309.html

How to stay safe while travelling in Egypt

Egypt Nile Cruise

By Qin Xie | Yahoo Contributor Network

Since the events at Tahrir Square, many tourists have been reluctant to travel to Egypt. Each time a new incident arises, tentative travellers would cancel their plans with renewed concerns. The result has seen the country's visitor numbers fall by some 90%.

With international press holding a dim view of safety in the country, Egypt's Minister of Tourism Hisham Zaazou has even spoke of promoting Egypt without Cairo.

But is Egypt too dangerous to travel to? And how can you stay safe whilst there?

General safety

Egypt is a developing country for which one of the major sources of income is tourism. As a result, there is a dedicated police force for tourists. And in many respects, the risks of travel are no more than any other parts of the world.

It's worthwhile to be vigilant with your belongings when out and about as tourist areas can get very busy. If you're travelling independently (without a tour group), and especially if you're a lone traveller, it's worth checking into a nicer hotel and avoiding public transport.

Due to the increased perception of risk, many hotel and tour operators have stepped up their security to make their international guests feel protected. Many have hired armed guards to travel with their tour groups.

For the most up to date information about a region, the Foreign Office is still the best guide. The travel advice status is regularly updated Monday to Friday while the general safety information lists every major incident over the last few years.

If for nothing else, you know that you will be insured as many travel insurance companies will follow its advice. If you're not sure, it's always worth checking with your insurer.

Out and about

You can safely walk on the streets, even at night but you should always carry some form of ID and avoid any signs of trouble. Many people speak a little English but most will speak only Arabic.

People will offer to show you tourist spots for payment or invite you to take a tour on their horse drawn carriages. If you're not interested, simply ignore them. If you want to take photos, it's always wise to ask first.

As Egypt is an Arab country, for women especially, you should cover shoulders and knees and not dress revealingly.

On board a cruise

Most cruise boats will have guards on board and some might even operate from a private dock for increased security.

When you're not in your room, you should always close the windows as you never know when a boat will be docked next to yours. So even if you're docked facing the river in the morning, you might come back later in the day to find the window of another boat obstructing your view.

As you cruise along the Nile, there will also be people on row boats who will strap themselves on to the cruise boat with ropes to try an make a sale. It can feel like the boat is being pirated but if you don't want to buy anything, just ignore them.

At tourist sites

At tourist sites is when you will get the most hassle to buy things from vendors.

Adults and children will crowd around you with their goods and try to make a sale. It can feel quite aggressive sometimes but you generally don't need to worry.

If you're interested, you can stop to browse but if not, simply avoid eye contact, walk on and ignore them. It feels rude doing this at first but it's the accepted way of declining. If you speak to the vendors, they will keep following you thinking that you're just trying to haggle for a good price.

Egypt's tourism website also offers some great local travel advice. See www.egypt.travel for more information

@https://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/stay-safe-while-travelling-egypt-122900322.html