Thursday 17th February, 5.00pm EST

Over the past 24 hours, I have met with the head of the Egyptian Tourism Authority responsible for this part of the world and we have received updates from our partners in Egypt. We are therefore pleased to provide the following update.

Since the departure of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Egypt has been slowly getting back to business. The daily curfew now applies only between the hours of midnight and 6am. This means it is no longer affecting the working day in Egypt. Most protests have now stopped and people are returning to work, however there is some disruption due to strikes.

The tourist sites have started to reopen including the Pyramids and Sphinx however, the Egyptian museum remains closed.

Whilst the Australian Government travel warnings remain in place - several other governments including the UK and Germany have started to relax their warnings.  One major British tour company is restarting Nile cruises from this coming Monday (21 Feb).  We would expect that if the situation on the ground continues to improve as it has that the Australian Government will have to follow other governments to ease restrictions within the next 2 weeks. 

Bunnik Tours has cancelled all Egypt tours until 14 March. This has been done to allow the situation in Egypt time to return to normal. Our first tour to Egypt will depart Australia on 15 March. As advised previously, Marion Bunnik will be based in Cairo from 14 March to ensure everything is running smoothly. 

The tourism industry is a vital part of the Egyptian economy and is key to Egypt achieving economic growth and prosperity. In addition to its incredible ancient sites, Egypt is home to some of the world’s most friendly and hospitable people - it is these people who make an Egyptian holiday such an incredible experience. Bunnik Tours is committed to helping to rebuild the Egyptian tourism industry and once tours recommence will be doubling our efforts to get Aussie travellers back to Egypt. 

Regards,
Dennis Bunnik
Managing Director

Monday 7th February, 3.00pm EST

 

Image 1 - view from Dennis' room   Image 2 - Dennis outside LeLe Meridien Pyramids Hotel with Amr and Azza  

Egypt – A Heartfelt Thank You

Update: All Bunnik Tours to Egypt departing in February 2010 have been cancelled.  At this stage March departures are scheduled to run as normal, however the situation in Egypt is being monitored on a daily basis. Bunnik Tours will not recommence travel to Egypt until both we, and our agents in Egypt, are 100% confident that the situation is under control and all sights are operating as per normal. The welfare of our clients is our number one priority. When tours do recommence, Marion Bunnik will travel to Egypt and be based in Cairo for the first 2 weeks to ensure everything runs smoothly for our operators and clients.  

I am now back in Australia and would like to give you a final update on my time in Egypt and offer my most heartfelt thanks.

Firstly, I’d like to thank the hundreds of people who sent us messages of thanks and well wishes. When I finally hit the wall after 4 days of little sleep and running on adrenalin, it was reading the wonderful emails from everybody that brought a tear to my eye and got me through the tough days. It made me realise that what we have managed to create with Bunnik Tours over the last 7 years, is something very special and it makes me very proud of our team.

For all of you who have emailed and called us enquiring about the welfare of our Egyptian team, I am very pleased to advise that they are all well and in good spirits. Egypt is undergoing historic change and they are all hopeful for a better future. 

I would like to thank our incredible operations team in Egypt. Our reps and airport team - Mohamed Ali, Ahmed, Shreef and Belall working under the tireless leadership of Amr. You all really took going above and beyond to a new level.  You got our clients through the chaos of Cairo Airport and stayed with them until they were safely onboard their flights even though this often meant you yourself had to sleep overnight at the airport because of the curfew. Thank you!

To our drivers Hussein, Nasser and Samir, thank you.  You are truly incredible – navigating your way through the roadblocks and streets of Cairo to get us safely to our hotel and the airport.  I know the group who travelled from Alexandria to Cairo on the worst day of rioting will forever remember the efforts of Samir.  

Thank you to our Egyptian management team of Lofti Hammad, Mohsen and Azza who made it happen – even when communications were down, the team performed with poise and grace. This is only possible if the training, systems and structures are there in the first place.  The performance of your team under severe pressure is a real testament to the quality of your leadership. 

Thank you to the staff of the Le Meridien Pyramids who stayed at the hotel and made us comfortable instead of returning to their homes. The Egyptian spirit is a powerful thing and something you can all be very proud of. 

To our teams in Australia - it’s when the chips are down that the cream rises to the top.  A massive thank you to:

The retail and reservations teams who handled a record number of phone calls and put a lot of anxious people at ease when information was changing on an almost daily basis.  To the operations department, who moved mountains day and night to get people back to Australia or on to other destinations. 

To the marketing team who allowed us to get the word out and keep everybody updated including Craig, our National Sales Manager, who kept the sensationalist media at bay but worked tirelessly to allow us to get a more balanced perspective out to the Australian public (thanks to MMM & ABC Sydney, MIX & 6PR in Perth, FoxFM & MTR in MEL, MMM in Brisbane and ABC891 in Adelaide).

Thank you also to my fellow directors and our senior management team – you were my rock and were there for the cause 24 hours a day. Your leadership shined through and you have nothing but my highest admiration. 

Finally, I’d like to thank all the clients who were affected.  The poor people who I had to turn around in Singapore and Dubai – I promise we’ll get you back to Egypt soon! To all the clients I met in Egypt – Craig, Marge, Brandon, Margaret, Brian, Ann, Jennifer, Toby, Bill, Sue, Des, Ratree, Bob, Lura and even Maria and Cassandra who I met at Cairo Airport when I arrived just before their flight out. Your support for each other, your good nature and your ability to make the best of a bad situation shows the Aussie spirit is alive and well. I think we’re all starting to realise we were part of Egyptian history!

Bunnik Tours will be back in Egypt as soon as is practically possible.  At this stage, we are hopeful that tours will begin again from 1 March. When tours do recommence, Marion Bunnik will be travelling to Egypt and will be based in Cairo for the first 2 weeks to ensure everything runs smoothly.

Regards,
Dennis Bunnik
 

Thursday 3rd February, 11.30am EST

The internet is back up in Cairo! I am therefore very pleased to be able to give another update and I am heartened by the messages of support that Bunnik Tours has received.  

As of today, the last Bunnik Tours clients have left Egypt. I also believe the Australian Government flights started operating today so that the backlog of stranded passengers at the airport has started to clear.

Now that the last of our passengers are out of Egypt, the focus turns solely to those booked to travel in the coming months.  I know our offices in Australia have been receiving many phone calls from clients who are worried about their upcoming trips.
At this stage, we have cancelled all departures to Egypt, up to and including 12 February. The reason for this is that this is the date airlines have said they will provide full refunds to.  Beyond this date, it is at this stage, unknown if tours will operate. This is because the situation in Egypt is still unclear – all the tourist sights are closed off so even if tourists were here, they wouldn’t be able to see anything. 

Today I had a long meeting with the management team of our partners here in Egypt.  They have provided me with updates on what is happening in various parts of the city and the country in general.

Please note that Bunnik Tours will not recommence travel to Egypt until both we, and our agents in Egypt, are 100% confident that everything is fine and all sights are operating normally. The welfare of our clients is our number one priority.

For passengers booked on tours beyond 12 February, we ask for your patience as we work through this situation. Whilst the situation here in Egypt is calm and life is starting to get back to some sort of normality, it is still severely disrupted. The internet has been down for the last 2 days, phone lines are disrupted and the banks have been closed.  Also, the curfew has significantly shortened the working day. As such, normal business activity has slowed down considerably and it is taking much longer to get things done.

As mentioned above, tours operating after 12 February are still active. This is in response to airline advice as all travel after this date will be subject to normal airline cancellation policies. Obviously if the situation in Egypt remains the same by then, the airlines (and Bunnik Tours) will move this date forward. Therefore we ask for your patience and will provide further updates as soon as we have any new information. Bunnik Tours will not send you to Egypt if is it not safe. 

The situation in Cairo remains both calm and tense. There is a notable difference between today (Wednesday) and yesterday around the hotel here in Giza – the curfew was lifted at 7.30 this morning rather than 8.00am and the amount of traffic on the road is up significantly. This is all local traffic – people going about their business and trying to get some normality back into their lives. There is also a lot more goods traffic – tomatoes to the markets etc than previously. However, at the same time, pro-Mubarak and anti-Mubarak protesters are clashing in the central streets of Cairo. 

I would also like to give a further update on the Egyptian people as I have spent much time with them over the last few days. They are naturally concerned but they are also very hopeful for the future. This is a very historic time for Egypt and they understand that great change is happening. They also continue to emphasise that this is not aimed at tourists at all and they are greatly concerned about the welfare of tourists in Egypt. 

Once again, thank you for your messages of support and your patience as we deal with the travel situation in Egypt.

Dennis Bunnik

Thursday 3rd February, 10.00am EST

More interviews with Dennis Bunnik in Cairo

Please note - you will require Flash to listen to this file. Click here to doanload Flash to your computer.

Triple M - Sydney
Download the interview here (2.3Mb mp3)

Please note - you will require Flash to listen to this file. Click here to doanload Flash to your computer.

Mix 94.5 - Perth
Download the interview here (9.1Mb mp3)

Wednesday 2nd February, 5.30pm EST

There are communication issues currently in Egypt, which are limiting access to internet and telephone services.

There is a curfew in place and people are not able to work their normal hours, which is making it increasingly difficult for not only Bunnik Tours, but the general public, to receive any answers. 

We will keep you informed as we receive updates to the situation.

The Egyptian people are very keen for tourism to get back to normality and welcome you back into their country. Tourism plays an important role in Egypt and we hope to see many tourists return to this country to enjoy all that it has to offer.

We appreciate your understanding and patience while we work together with our local office in Cairo to provide you with up to date information.

Regards,
Marion and Sacha Bunnik

Wednesday 2nd February, 4:45pm EST

Dennis Bunnik interviewed by ANDREW COULLOUPAS
THE STEVE PRICE BREAKFAST PROGRAM
MELBOURNE TALK RADIO

Please note - you will require Flash to listen to this file. Click here to doanload Flash to your computer.

Download the interview here (4.5Mb mp3)

Tuesday 1st February, 11:30am EST

An update from Dennis Bunnik, Managing Director

Here is a brief summary of my observations in Cairo over the last 24 hours.

I arrived on Sunday lunchtime - by the time my flight arrived in Cairo from Dubai there were only 47 passengers on board.  The flight had been rescheduled to spend the least amount of time on the ground in Cairo as possible. This gave me 5 hours in Dubai allowing me time to stop 6 Bunnik Tours passengers boarding their flights to Cairo.  I had turned another 14 around at Singapore airport on Saturday night as the situation in Cairo became more serious and we were advised by our ground operator in Egypt to stop all arrivals.

A note here - we were only able to stop these 20 passengers enroute because I was at the airport and pulled them off the flight at the gate - all were relieved although naturally disappointed their holiday was not going ahead. There were only a few passengers that I did not see on my travels (and could therefore not stop). We did put messages in booking for airline to advise passengers not to travel but this was no use. 

Cairo airport was chaotic, my luggage took 90 minutes.  Many passengers were sleeping at the airport. The departure area was packed with the ticket office at around 250% capacity and more people trying to squeeze in.

I travelled to Terminal 1 where some Bunnik Tours passengers were waiting for their flight out. The situation at Terminal 1 was far worse and I had to push, fight to get in to the building and then climb over luggage, trolleys and people to finally find our passengers sitting with their guide in the cafe - they got away on their flight safely.

Note here - don't rely on getting flights changed or booked at airport - the lines are many hours long.

The drive to Giza was unique - just before curfew, although curfew is subject to Egyptian Time. It was moved to 4pm from 6pm,in the hope that by 6pm most Egyptians would get around to obeying it.

Many military vehicles and soldiers all along the journey - including many tanks - mainly outside major sights (Citadel) and major buildings and intersections.  There was a large number of Egyptians on the street as police had disappeared - these were in the form of spontaneously organised nation or home guard.  The local people were protecting their own areas and making sure there was no trouble - often they were working directing traffic and working side by side with the soldiers.

Major roundabout out the front of Le Meridien Pyramids is blocked off at night and has a large military presence during the day. Hotel security is in place as normal and all passengers have been advised not to leave the hotel.

26 Bunnik Tours passengers left Cairo on Saturday on scheduled services - this was the normal end of their tour anyway.  20 passengers were turned around or diverted enroute on Saturday.  This left 14 passengers in Egypt - all at Le Meridien (this being organised prior to my arrival by our ground operator who moved some from Ramses Hilton and cancelled an overnight train to Luxor for others).

Local ground staff had been staying at hotel with clients overnight since the crisis began to ensure all clients remained safe.

I spent last night gathering info from each passenger re flights home and onward travel - then advised Adelaide Bunnik Tours operations of all the details. They then got to work while I tried to get some sleep. Woke very early, tanks still outside, went down and spoke to hotel staff. They advised everything was very quiet and they were getting on really well with the soldiers. 

Adelaide operations started advising me of new flight times at 6am - first passengers left hotel at 7.30am for airport confirmed on their flight.  The rest of the passengers had new confirmed flights by lunchtime and will all have left Egypt by tomorrow night.

Passengers doing our Egypt & Jordan tour have all elected to go to Jordan and still want to return to Egypt afterwards if it is safe.  Every single passenger here has commented on how well they have been treated by the Egyptians and how much they have loved it.

It is important to note that the problems in Egypt are purely domestic and political.  They are not and have never been aimed at tourists.  In fact all the Egyptians I have spoken to and our client have dealt with have gone out of their way to ensure tourists are safe - even to the point that they will look after tourists rather than return to their own homes.  The army is allowing tourists to travel during curfew if they have no choice - eg like the passengers who we had transferred to Le Meridien Pyramids after curfew because all hotels near airport are full.  

Situation here now is still changing - there is talk of a general strike.

There are no other Aussies at this hotel as far as I can tell - a Spanish group left this morning and now it's just me, a few Russians, Brits and my 8 passengers not flying out until tomorrow. 

All our passengers have been very calm and happy during this entire process - not frightened rather they have the typical she'll be right Aussie attitude.  More concern is coming from Australia including some family of passengers who are seeing sensationalised media reports. 

I can't speak for hotels in central Cairo but here at Giza it is very calm.   All sightseeing is closed due to lack of police - however they started returning today so sights may start to open again in a few days. 

Can't speak for the overall political situation here or the protests because I'm not near them however our ground operator says that the majority of protesters are well educated good people and they are getting on well with the army.  Egyptians are impressed at how the country has rallied and spontaneously organised these neighbourhood guards without any formal government organisation. 

As we all know Egypt is one of the true jewels - as I type this I look out over the pyramids. Let's hope this is a minor road block and Egypt can reach its full potential.

Dennis Bunnik
Bunnik Tours

Monday 31st January, 10:30am

Bunnik Tours Managing Director, Dennis Bunnik, flew out to Cairo on Saturday to assist our clients currently in Egypt.

Dennis, along with our ground operator, is with our clients at the Le Meridien Hotel. Some of our clients will begin departing for Australia today. All clients are in good spirits.

Our operations department are working hard to have everyone home as soon as possible.

Bunnik Tours National Sales Manager Craig Owens states:

 “As a family owned and operated company, our clients are like family and we felt it essential to have a senior manager on the ground to not only reassure our clients but to also help with the changes to their itineraries. We wanted to ensure our clients have the most up to date and accurate information available and as such the decision was made for Dennis to travel to Cairo”.

Our thoughts go out to the Egyptian people and our many friends there. We hope that there is a rapid end to the protests as Egypt is one of the world’s true tourism gems.

This webpage will be updated throughout the week.