THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, September 21, 1979 23
Israel-Egypt Tourism Begins
By DIANA LERNER
World Zionist Press Service
The gates between Egypt
and Israel are open, the flag
of peace is flying, but the
caravans of travelers be-
tween the two countries
were yet to cross the desert
in significant numbers in
the year 5739.
The slowness of getting
an Egyptian visa, the ab-
sence of a direct land or air
route to Egypt from Israel,
the delay in coordinating
travel arrangements by
other routes, the shortage of
reasonably priced hotel
rooms in Egypt meeting
minimal standards of con-
venience — all these are
hampering what is expected
in time to become a bour-
geoning tourist market.
Nevertheless, a new era
of tourism is slowly being
ushered in, based on a deep
desire of the population on
both sides of the border to
meet, and a longing of
potential tourists around
the globe to explore a new
tourist destination.
Tour operators from all
parts of the world,
swamped with requests
about a package that will
combine visits to both
countries, Egypt and Is-
rael, in one trip, are op-
timistic that mass
tourism to the region is
not far off.
Movement has already
started, and is expected to
continue in greater volume,
from Israel to Egypt rather
than the other way round.
This fact has been deplored
by Egyptian diplomats who
were recently in Israel for
autonomy talks.
Israelis
are
the
traveling-est people in the
world, declares Michael
Gidron, director of informa-
tion of Israel's tourist ad-
ministration, and are ready
to overcome all obstacles to
visit a land that has been
closed to them for 30 years.
For some it is a return to a
home they knew, to tens of
thousands of others it is an
exciting new place to
explore. They are raring to
go by whatever route is open
to them and it is estimated
that eventually about
100,000 Israelis will visit
Egypt year by year.
Until the 45-minute di-
rect flight is available,
however, they are travel-
ing by way of interna-
tional airlines leaving
from Athens or Rome for
Cairo, initiated by
enterprising agents in Is-
rael in cooperation with
Egyptian counterparts.
In June 1979, the first
tourist group, though only a
handful of travelers, made
history when they left the
Tel Aviv marina for the
12-hour journey to Port Said
on a motor yacht, Gabriella,
to be transferred to bus
coaches bearing them to
Cairo and environs. The 15
passengers, all but one hol-
ders of foreign passports, re-
ceived a warm welcome and
got their first glimpse of the
land of the Nile.
Since then, organizers of
the sea voyage and three-
day sightseeing in Egypt
have been sailing weekly
with small groups. The cost
of the trip is $450 and in-
cludes three nights in a lux-
ury hotel, travel in an air-
conditioned bus to the main
centers and sightseeing.
On arrival, visitors must
change $150 into Egyptian
currency, "but there are
plenty of ways to spend it,"
says Walter Abib of the VIP
Travel Agency of Tel Aviv.
He is already negotiating
for the possible charter of a
hydrofile which would cover
the journey to Port Said in
71/2 hours and leave more
time for seeing some of the
attractions that include not
only the Pyramids and
Sphynx, but also Alexan-
dria, bazaars and casinos,
archeological wonders, and
last but not least the Ben
Ezra synagogue which
dates back over 1,000 years
and is of interest to both Jew
and non-Jew.
A fever of activity
began in order to lay the
grounds for the estab-
lishment of tourist links.
Through personal meet-
ings at interntional travel
agent conventions, mis-
sives circuitously routed
to each other through
American and European
liaisons following clear-
ance by officials on both
sides of the border, Is-
raeli and Egyptian
agents have been unoffi-
cially preparing an ex-
change of confidential
tarriffs, lining up hotel
rooms, mapping out tour
lines and ogling the
potential bonanzas
awaiting tourism to the
Middle East.
Precise cost of packages
offering direct connections
between Israel and- Egypt
will depend on rates estab-
lished by government-
controlled airlines and bus
companies in both coun-
tries. Agents expect that
eventual reactivation of the
old Israel-to-Egypt railroad
line and establishment of
regular two-way passenger
ship connections between
Haifa and Alexandria will
expand the tourist options.
An untoward thrust for-
ward for Egyptian tourism
may be forthcoming from an
unexpected direction:
Jewish organizations in the
U.S. and elsewhere. The
Keren Hayesod United Is-
rael Appeal office in Israel
announced that it wishes to
bring 400 young leaders
from around the world, who
will be participating in the
"Yachdav" mission here, to
Cairo for one day.
Nabi Auwad, one of the
many Egyptian travel
agents visiting Israel, re-
ports it will take about two
years for the necessary
hotel rooms to be readied.
However, he points to the
growing interest among
Egyptian businessmen in
seeing some of the things
they have heard about in Is-
rael and laying the founda-
tions for initial business
transactions:
Auwad also reports on
the overflow requests
from his contacts in the
U.S. and on other conti-
nents to combine Cairo-
Tel Aviv travel. It will not
be more expensive, he
emphasizes, and has end-
less potential for being
enjoyable to the tourist
and profitable to the
operator.
The first attempt at a
Jewish view of Egypt which
combines history, geog-
raphy, archeology and
tourism has been produced
by journalist Shalom Co-
hen. His guide book "Egypt:
A Guide for the Israeli
Tourist in the Nile Valley,"
undertakes to give a history
of all points of contact be-
tween the Egyptian and
Jewish people from biblical
days to the present.
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