How safe is Egypt?

In 2017 Egypt made it onto my no-fly list of destinations and for very good reason. The country has been devastated by years of political turmoil and suspected terrorist attacks and as a result, Egypt’s once thriving tourist industry – central to the country’s economic survival and employing approximately 10 percent of its 20 million population – has basically nosedived.

Before the revolution in 2010, for instance, Egypt attracted over 14 million visitors per year, but by 2011 figures had dropped by 80 percent. Today, some 8 years on, Egypt appears to be slowly stabilizing both politically and economically. In fact, The United Nations World Tourism Organization ranked Egypt the second fastest growing tourism destination in 2017 and on course to attract 12 million visitors this year alone.

That being said, certain areas like the  Sinai peninsula are still under no travel restrictions and every traveller to Egypt has been asked to be vigilant at all times and follow advisories. On the streets of Cairo the government has beefed up its military presence at all public places of interest. Even at my hotel every bag and piece of luggage entering the building was scanned. Vehicles were only allowed onto the hotel’s compound after an ID check, sniffer dogs and an undercarriage mirror search were conducted.  Still, even with all the checks and inconveniences, there wasn’t a place in Egypt that I did not feel safe, even alongside the hagglers in the bustling markets.

Now, I understand everyone’s concerns, safety is the number one topic my friends want to talk about when I mention my sojourn to this county which links northeast Africa with the Middle East but in reality,  travelling to Egypt is not more or less more dangerous than other destinations I have visited or even where I live, in Paris, where security continues to be a challenge.

So, if you are thinking about travelling to the land of the pharaohs and millennia-old monuments,  which is open for your tourist dollar, but you still feel concerned about safety, here are a few tips I put together based on my time there.

• Stay with a group-there is safety in numbers.
• Ensure someone knows your schedule and that you check in often.
• Get a professional guide. Especially if you are heading into the high traffic busy areas.
• Make sure there is security at your hotel.
• This may not be the destination for solo female travellers.
• You should avoid crowded places and gatherings, including in or around religious sites and during religious festivals, such as the month of Ramadan and the Christmas period (when terrorist groups have sometimes called for attacks.
• Pay attention to no travel areas. For instance, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advice is against all but essential travel by air to or from Sharm el Sheikh after a flight from Sharm el Sheikh to St Petersburg crashed in North Sinai. There is no FCO advice against travel to Cairo, Alexandria, the tourist areas along the Nile River (including Luxor, Qina, Aswan, Abu Simbel and the Valley of the Kings) and the Red Sea resorts of Sharm el Sheikh and Hurghada.
• Stay alert and all trust your instincts.