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Fifteen years into the partnership, a customer-first approach, sharper data insights, and smoother operations are helping the company respond to changing booking habits and keep growing across international markets.
From the Pyramids of Giza to the deserts around Hurghada, Egypt Excursions Online helps travelers experience some of the country’s best-known sights and landscapes. Its range spans guided cultural tours, quad and safari experiences, Red Sea activities, private trips and transfers across many of Egypt’s major destinations.
Founded in 2010, the company began working with GetYourGuide a year later, making it one of the platform’s earliest suppliers in Egypt. Since then, it has grown alongside the shift towards online booking, with its business through GetYourGuide more than doubling across the two years before 2026.
For CEO and founder Fouad Adel, that growth starts after someone books.
“It’s not just uploading your products, getting bookings and that’s it,” he says. “It’s about how you offer the experience to the customer. You have to look at your tours through the eyes of the customer and think about how they feel when deciding to book, during the booking process and when you deliver the experience.”
That thinking runs through the business. Digitization has made booking and communication simpler, while GetYourGuide data helps the team understand changing customer markets, booking habits and product performance.
We spoke with Adel about 15 years of partnership, the rise in advance bookings, and how customer feedback and platform tools are shaping Egypt Excursions’ next phase of growth.
For someone who does not know Egypt Excursions, how would you describe the business today?
We want to help travelers experience Egypt in a way that feels well organized while still giving them genuine local insight. Our experiences cover some of the country’s best-known destinations, from cultural and sightseeing tours to desert safaris and Red Sea activities.
Behind that range is a team focused on the details that make a trip work well: the guides, transportation, itineraries, communication, and support before and after the tour. We have been building that approach since 2010, and our goal has always been to help people experience the real Egypt while making the process as easy as possible.
How has digitizing your business changed your operations?
It was challenging at first, but moving to a fully digital operation has transformed the way we work. Travelers now get instant confirmation, easy payment, flexible date changes, and clearer pickup communication.
We can also follow up much more consistently before and after each tour. For us, digitization is about making the whole experience simpler for the customer, from booking through to the tour itself.
What happens behind the scenes before a tour reaches a customer?
Several stages happen before we deliver an experience. We start on the ground, reviewing the attraction itself, transportation, and the guides' qualifications. From there, we build the itinerary, and our content team prepares it for the customer.
Once bookings come in, our operations team takes over. They handle pickup details, communication, and follow-up through to the experience itself. Several layers support what the customer sees, and strong behind-the-scenes organization is what makes the experience feel simple.
Have you noticed any changes in your guest profile as you have moved online?
We initially saw a big increase in last-minute bookings, but over the past year that has shifted noticeably towards advance bookings.
We have also seen changes in where our customers come from. Germany has become our largest market, overtaking the U.K., which was previously number one. French travelers are another significant group. GetYourGuide's data has made those changes much easier to see.
Our customers also tend to skew younger. We regularly see younger family members booking for their parents and then contacting us to say, "I booked for my mom and dad. Please look after them because they are not very tech-savvy." We see that quite often now.
What inspired you to partner with GetYourGuide?
Our main motivation was reaching markets we simply couldn't reach ourselves. GetYourGuide gave us visibility with a much wider audience of travelers who were already looking to book tours and activities in Egypt.
That was important when we started working together in 2011, and it remains one of the partnership's biggest strengths today.
What have been the most significant outcomes for your business since joining?
Two things stand out. First, the breadth of the audience we can now reach. Second, the increase in advance bookings, which genuinely surprised us.
The growth has also been significant. Across the two years before 2026, our business through GetYourGuide grew by 108%.
Over 15 years, GetYourGuide has grown into a key strategic partner in our distribution. Compared with our other channels, GetYourGuide stands out.
What is the biggest challenge facing your sector, and how has GetYourGuide helped address it?
Cancellations, refund requests, and maintaining strong reviews can directly impact the business. Some of the tools GetYourGuide has introduced have helped us manage those areas much better.
The no-show button is a good example. We used to receive many refund requests when customers did not show up for their experience. Being able to report a no-show immediately has reduced those requests to the lowest level we have ever seen on the platform.
Pickup confirmation windows have also made a real difference. Customers can confirm their pickup time and location more clearly, which has reduced confusion for our operations team. We were uncertain about some of these changes when they were first introduced, but once we started using them, we could see the benefit.
How do you use GetYourGuide's data and analytics tools?
The performance and analytics section of the supplier portal has become part of our daily routine. We look at which products are performing, which are not converting, and what customers are responding to.
I review customer feedback and performance almost every day. Reviews are especially important to me because they tell us what is happening with the customer experience and where we may need to improve.
We also keep reviewing the portfolio itself. Last year, we removed several experiences that weren't performing. For me, it is not about having as many products as possible. It is about understanding what works for the customer and keeping the portfolio's quality high.
How have you adapted your experiences to different traveler needs?
Giving customers more choice was a turning point for us. Travelers do not all want the same type of experience. Some want a private tour, some prefer a shared group, and others want something more independent.
Building our portfolio around those different needs changed our strategy. Over roughly three years, expanding those options helped us improve both bookings and visibility.
What would you tell another local operator considering GetYourGuide?
I have recommended working with GetYourGuide to many local suppliers over the years. My first advice is always to focus on the experience. Before you think about bookings or revenue, make sure you are well organized and can give the customer an exceptional experience.
You cannot simply upload your products and wait for bookings. You have to think about what the customer sees when they are deciding to book, how the booking process feels, and what happens when they are actually with you on the tour.
If you can look at your experience through the customer's eyes, you are already in a much stronger position.
What could be next for Egypt Excursions?
One request keeps coming up. Guests finish a half-day or full-day experience with us and then ask, "Why can't we travel all over Egypt with you?"
We hear it often enough that I raised it with our regional management team. We are now seriously exploring multi-day, multi-city itineraries that could bring several of our experiences together.
In a way, the idea has come directly from our customers.
Key takeaways
- Put the customer experience first. Egypt Excursions pairs digital convenience with close communication before, during, and after each tour.
- Use digital distribution to reach further. Since joining GetYourGuide in 2011, the company has expanded into new international markets and grown its business through the platform by 108% over the two years before 2026.
- Turn platform tools into operational gains. No-show reporting and pickup confirmation windows have cut refund requests and reduced confusion for the team.
- Let data shape what you sell. Fouad reviews feedback and performance almost daily, using those insights to refine the company’s portfolio and respond to changing booking habits.
- Listen closely to what guests ask for next. Repeated requests to travel across Egypt with the same operator are now inspiring plans for multi-day, multi-city itineraries.
