One of my bucket list destinations just kicked the bucket. Egypt, where it all begins. And now ends. As the harrowing details of what happened to CBS news reporter Lara Logan come to light, many Americans will no doubt now have a similar reaction and find that put-off trip to the Pyramids all too erasable.
Of course with active State Dept warnings and uncertainty re the country’s direction with the Muslim Brotherhood at the helm, I and other bucketeers would not be packing our bags and heading off to Luxor any time soon.
But now Lara Logan.
Much like AIG became synonymous with nearly killing off the luxury resort
convention business, Egypt’s tourism decline from the US will be tied to
Lara Logan and the events of 2/11/11.
Notoriety of this sort is not what this South African rising news star
would want. In initial reports, CBS News said they avoided Cairo
hospital care and Egyptian government help because of complete mistrust.
While the truth may be that Logan wanted her privacy and dignity above all else,
the irreparable harm lay in the takeway: if I go, my health and safety can not be
guaranteed. It didn’t help that those same reports stated Logan was a
target that evening of anti-semitic taunts (wrong, for all reasons).
Thus, the heinous actions of a mob will impact the livelihood of thousands
as well as the enjoyment of millions. More the pity as Egypt was having a banner
tourism year by all accounts. Even once-maligned Egyptair was proving up to the
challenge, joining Star Alliance in 2008 and recently introducing the popular
Boeing Triple-7 on its JFK-CAI route.
I had the opportunity twice in 2010 to hear Egyptian tourism officials speak in New York. The star at both occasions to honor the opening and closing of the King Tutankhamun exhibit was Dr. Zawi Hawass of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities. Learned and articulate, he won each audience with his passion for the preservation Egypt’s magnificent artifacts, and with his exhortations for us all to visit these true wonders of the world.
Now his efforts and those of the tourism board have been seriously set back. Egypt is a victim of the cruelest of ironies: ancient history is its calling card and only time will tell if visitors ever return.
Jim Cronin
