Business: Let My People Go

Ever since Moses led the children of Israel out of the house of bondage, traffic between Egypt and the Promised Land has been relatively intense. It has been curbed during 30 years of hostilities, but one fruit of a Middle East peace agreement would be a surge in the tourist trade.

In Cairo some days ago, an Egyptian bank clerk asked a foreign customer what the weather was like in Israel; the clerk and her friends are planning a spring vacation there. Easter should be particularly busy. Many of Egypt's 6 million Coptic Christians intend to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, which is their most holy city. Huge numbers of Israelis are eager to see the pyramids, which some think their forefathers built (historians are doubtful).

Travel companies are leaping into action. Israel's Egged Bus Cooperative is preparing a Tel Aviv-Cairo trip for $6 one way. El Al hopes to start regular air service between the two cities. Shipping operators are planning a car-ferry service between Haifa or Ashdod and Port Said. To speed these plans, Israeli tourist officials have been trying to confer with their Egyptian counterparts at various international meetings.

Egypt's hotel shortage may cause a squeeze, but construction is now under way by many companies, including Hilton, Intercontinental and Marriott. On both sides of the Sinai, tourist officials foresee a bonanza as international travelers rush to visit both countries in a single trip. Says Fuad Shady, an official of the Nile Hilton: "We have the greatest tourist package in the world—the Holy Land combined with the world of the Pharaohs—and a great year-round climate."