Avanti Destinations has started offering custom FIT and group travel to Egypt, which is currently open to American tourists.
Egypt is the latest addition to Avanti’s destination lineup in North Africa and the Middle East. The company has been selling FIT and custom group travel to Abu Dhabi and Dubai for several years, and added Morocco in late 2019, in response to requests from travel advisors.
“Egypt offers so many fascinating sights and experiences—from the pyramids, sphinxes, temples and other ancient monuments to lively cities, a traditional desert oasis, and a Red Sea resort with outstanding coral reefs,” said Paul Barry, Avanti CEO, in a press release statement. “Because it is now open to U.S. tourists, it’s the perfect time for advisors to start talking about Egypt to their FIT clients. In the past few years, we’ve received many requests to add this destination for both independent and custom group travel.
“We are optimistic about international travel this year: people are getting vaccinated worldwide, and there is enormous pent-up demand for travel. At the forefront of that demand is the independent traveler, the Avanti traveler. If I were to speculate from the position we are in today, I would expect booking levels by the end of the first quarter will be 20 percent of what they were in 2019, 60 percent by the end of the second quarter, a full 100 percent for the third quarter, and 125 percent for the fourth quarter. It is an enormous ramp up in business levels, and we expect to be getting back to 2019 staff levels during the third quarter of this year,” said Barry.
Avanti is offering six destinations in Egypt — Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor, Aswan, the traditional Berber oasis of Siwa, and the modern resort town of Hurghada — and 38 activities and experiences, almost all of them private. These include private tours of pyramids, sphinxes, temples and the new Grand Egyptian Museum (slated to open this year); private tour of Coptic Christian and Jewish sites in Cairo; private dinner in a local Cairo home; sound & light shows (with private transfers) at various monuments and temples; private birdwatching tour around the Nile’s Cataract Islands; private tour of Nubian villages; private sunset desert safari by 4×4 to a hot and cold spring; and private tour on a traditional felucca sailboat to Aswan’s botanical garden. For tours of ancient monuments the guide is an Egyptologist.
Avanti is offering five customizable vacations in Egypt: The 9-day Best of Egypt, which includes a 4-night Nile cruise; the 12-day Treasures of the Nile, which includes a 7-night Nile cruise; the 11-day Ancient Lands of Egypt, which skips the multi-day Nile cruise but takes in the most ancient sites; the 12-day Grand Tour of Egypt, with a 4-night cruise between Luxor and Aswan; and the 10-day Egypt Sand & Sea, with a 3-night Nile cruise.
The operator’s new 52-page e-brochure “Essence of Egypt 2021-2022,” brimming over with information, is designed to be shared with clients, and is available on the tour operator’s agent portal at flipsnack.com/779977E569B/egypt.html. The e-brochure provides advice on travel times within Egypt, options for meeting visa requirements, and descriptions of the new products: five customizable vacations, six destinations, 19 hotels, and 38 experiences and activities, in addition to 11 different four- and five-star luxury ships for 3- to 12-night Nile cruises on four routes. Advisors can add or subtract destinations, activities and the number of days to each Avanti vacation to create unique itineraries that match each clients’ specific interests and preferences.
For more information on Avanti’s Egypt offerings, visit flipsnack.com/779977E569B/egypt.html. For more information on booking other destinations in Avanti’s portfolio, visit book.avantidestinations.com.
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