Since July 2010, prior to the start of the Arab Spring, the average price for a double hotel room in Egypt has fallen 23% to 81€. June and July marked the lowest months in terms of price for many Egyptian hotspots, including Cairo, Alexandria and Red Sea resort towns Sharm el-Sheikh, Dahab and more. However, mid-August reports show prices on the rise in popular travel destinations, according to hotel comparison website trivago. Moreover, global travel interest has plummeted 71% since the beginning of the year, with American interest in Egypt having dropped the most significantly by 86%.

Global travel to Egypt saw a predictable seasonal increase from September 2012 onward, peaking this year in January. This suggests that during this time, tourism had not yet been affected by unwinding political unrest, and that tourists felt safe enough to consider traveling to the North African country. The six and a half months that followed, on the other hand, saw a continuous decrease in overall interest level, totaling a full drop of 71.5% in 2013 thus far. July reported the biggest month-over-month decrease in interest (-39%), while August (through the 19th) saw only a 3% decrease from last month. This downward trend is in line with the advisories provided by many Foreign Offices to reserve travel to Egypt only for essential purposes.

Americans showed the most dramatic drop in interest in travel to Egypt (down 86% in mid-August 2013, compared to August 2012). British, Italians and Germans followed with 35%, 34% and 28% decreases, respectively. All other nationalities that search through trivago (with aim to book) show an average 55% decrease in travel interest to Egypt.

Egyptian cities Cairo and Alexandria, where violent demonstrations have recently occurred, have seen price decreases of 30% and 32% between the period of July 2010 (prior the start of the Arab Spring) to July 2013. These drops in price have contributed to bringing down of the national average hotel price to 81€ this July2—35% lower than its highest point since the start of the Arab Spring (124€ in December 2011).

Cairo Reached Three-Year Low of 83€ in July 2013

The Egyptian capital Cairo, which has shown modest price fluctuations throughout the past three years, hit its lowest point this July, with an average hotel price of 83€. In previous years, the data shows that there is a notable seasonal decrease from July to August—11% decrease in 2010, -7% in 2011 and -4% in 2012. This year however, August has thus far reported an increase of 5% to 87€.

Alexandrian Hotel Prices Quick to Stabilize Following Political Turmoil

Alexandria’s hotel price progression over the past three years shows steep decreases that coincide with negative political events—including those leading up to the overthrow of President Morsi on the 3rd of July. trivago data shows that following said political incidents, hotel prices quickly start to stabilize. The most recent example of this was seen when prices rose 18% between July 2013 (99€ – its lowest price since July 2010) and August 2013 (117€).

Over the past three years, top tourism destinations El Gouna (61€ in July), Hurghada (83€), Sharm el-Sheikh (87€) and Dahab (50€) have reported similar monthly price fluctuations (for a double room), compared to that of the national Egyptian average. The average national hotel price decreased 23% from July 2010 to July 2013.

Mirroring the trend of increasing prices in Cairo and Alexandria (from July 2013 onward), these four popular destinations are also facing significant jumps in price this August—the only exception being tourism hotspot Luxor, which has decreased to 55€ this month (also its June 2013 price), its lowest rate in the last three years.

Dahab Reports Lowest Drop in Price, 34% over Three-Year Period

Red Sea Resort towns El Gouna (-26% from July 2010 to July 2013) and Dahab (-32%) in particular experienced steep decreases in price over time, and reached their lowest points in three years this June—59€ and 48€, respectively. This 48€ price in Dahab represents a 34% drop from July 2010, as well as the most dramatic price decrease over the past three years of all cities examined.

Sharm el-Sheikh Prices on the Rise

The South Sinai town of Sharm el-Sheikh has seen a 23% price increase from 87€ (July 2013) to 107€ (mid-August). This is consistent with reported seasonality between the same periods of time in 2011 (+21%) and 2012 (+15%). Whereas between July 2010 (103€) and August 2010 (111€), the average price for a double room in Sharm el-Sheikh reported an increase of only 8%. Worth noting is that although the interest level in Egypt overall is now much lower than it has been in recent years, hotel prices are very close to those of July 2010 before the start of the Arab Spring.