Russia advises its citizens not to visit Egypt, but tourists go anyway

The most important issue concerning the recent development in Egypt for Russia is that of Russian tourists. The Russian authorities have already advised tourist agencies to stop selling tours to the country.

The deputy head of the Federal Agency for Tourism, Yevgeny Pisarevsky, says Russians shouldn't travel to Egypt until the tensions end in the country. "The  Federal Agency for Tourism has sent an official letter to all tourist agencies saying it recommends not to sell tours to Egypt," he says.

"We hope that the situation in Egypt will change for the better, but until then the most important thing is to provide security for our citizens. We have made a decision. We advise not to sell tours to Egypt," he says.

According to the head of the Russian Association of Tourist Agents, Maya Lomidze, the country's tourist agencies are going to follow the authorities' advise, but noted that people are still leaving for Egypt, since a lot of tours have already been sold.

"Some 50 thousand Russians (according to another source, 53-55 thousand) are now in Egypt. About 2 or 2.5 thousand have just left for the country," she informs.