Nordic tour groups cancel over 60,000 Egypt trips

Associated Press
A man rides a camel past Khufu pyramid, the largest of pyramids at the historical site of the Giza Pyramids, near Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2013. Tourism in Egypt has dropped following unrest surrounding the July 3 popularly backed military coup that ousted President Mohammed Morsi. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)

HELSINKI (AP) — Major tour operators in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark say they have canceled at least 60,000 trips to Egypt through the winter season that lasts until April due to recent unrest.

Last week, charter companies and travel organizers flew back hundreds of Scandinavian holidaymakers from resorts in Egypt and halted all tours there until mid-October. The move came in the wake of Nordic governments' revised travel advisories warning against all nonessential travel to Egypt.

Denmark's largest tour operator, Spies Rejser, said Tuesday it will refund or find alternative holiday breaks for some 3,000 customers who had planned to go to Egypt.

Torben Andersen of Spies Rejser says Egypt "remains a rather big player" in the Danish tour industry, representing more than 10 percent of all winter destinations.