I phoned the travel place yesterday to book our trip to Egypt (Beyond the Pyramids, September 27) and asked the lady if I had to book my flight first because the paperwork they sent me sort of hinted that I had to. She started panicking saying "no no no no no, you don't want to do that, what if the trip is cancelled?!" basically telling me that I shouldn't even try to buy plane tickets until 30 days prior to the tour, which would cost way more than what I could get the tickets for now.
I'm curious to know how often tours get cancelled. How many of you have had an Egypt tour cancelled? It sounds like September/October is a popular time to go, but I'm worried about the risk.
Re: How many have had their tours cancelled?
You may want to read "How often do trips get cancelled" -- a post on the net already.
It is a true worry when airfare is booked separately or using points to travel!
We are currently in a "situation" where our trip may be cancelled which we don't understand as Central Europe according to our travel agent is a "hot" destination for other tour companies as is your trip.
Good luck!
Re: How many have had their tours cancelled?
I always book my lfights before I book the tour....it can be very difficult finding flights out of OZ to the Middle East!
So far I have never had a tour cancelled in Egypt. I have been travelling with Im Trav for almost 10 years, but so far only in Egypt.
It wasn't until recently that I began to "hear" of tours being cancelled. Perhaps there has been a sudden drop in the numbers of people travelling? The US $ has taken a huge plunge & Australia has been in drought for 11 years & our interest rates have shot through the roof!
So perhaps there are economic reasons why more people aren't travelling or why some intended travellers are cancelling their prior booked tours?
Just my own thoughts on this topic.
All the best.........Debbie
Re: How many have had their tours cancelled?
It happened to us - tour was cancelled after we had booked airfares. We did book pretty early and there was no guarantee of departure so I guess realistically we should have waited for confirmation. However, we found another tour (slightly more $) on pretty much the same dates and length and all systems are a go for it. We leave in 7 days!
Next time I will book the air tickets later I think - it was a bit stressful trying to decide what to do.
Re: How many have had their tours cancelled?
Hello Kozy
Thank you for your post and for highlighting your concerns about travelling in September/October and minimum numbers on your tour.
While it is true your tour has not yet reached minimum numbers, I have looked at numbers booked on some of our other Egypt tours in September and can tell you that lots of them do already have higher numbers. For example, "Nile Safari" on September 28th is already fully booked with 15 people signed up, and other Egypt tours around the same time have number upwards from 5, 7, 8 or 10 people. Some of them have smaller groups at the moment - 2 or 3 people, and we would expect those to attract more bookings over the next few months as people finalise their plans. Statistically, most people travelling to Egypt will book 2-4 months prior to departure.
I hope this helps to reassure you that while your tour does not have its minimum of 6 people at this time that there is every chance it will receive more bookings in the next few months.
September/October is a good time to visit Egypt as it will be very warm but you will miss the most intense summer heat.
Best Wishes,
Kelly
Re: How many have had their tours cancelled?
Thank you! I booked today![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Looking forward to it!