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Middle East and North Africa

Rostourism receives over 750 calls from Russian citizens over situation in Egypt

Tour operators say the situation in Egyptian resorts is calm

Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS

Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW, July 15 (Itar-Tass) - The Russian Federal Agency for Tourism (Rostourism) has received over 750 calls from Russian citizens who ask questions about the situation in Egypt.

“Since the hotline has been opened Rostourism has received over 750 calls from Russian citizens who ask questions about the situation in Egyptian resorts,” the Rostourism press service reported on Monday.

Tour operators say the situation in Egyptian resorts is calm. “The situation is being monitored daily: no protest actions have been reported in the latest days,” the press service said.

“Rostourism employees are conducting an explanatory work among Russian citizens about the situation in Egypt. The headquarters maintains permanent contacts with the Russian consulate-general in Egypt,” the press service said.

Earlier, Rostourim officials met Russian consul in Egypt Ali Abouzeid to discuss measures to ensure security of Russian tourists. Among one of the problems that Russian citizens faced in Egypt the consul named overexpensive medical services. Particularly, he said Russian citizens should pay 10 times more for medical assistance than local residents while insurance companies drew up overexpensive accounts. Thus, insurance companies refuse to pay such accounts and tourists face difficulties in this aspect, Abouzeid explained.

About 80,000 Russian tourists have the rest at Egyptian resorts. A total of 20,000 tourists arrived in Egypt by their own without tour operators’ aid, Rostourism reports.

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