I therefore though it may be helpful to suggest a sort of "checklist" of things to look for and questions to ask "prospective" holiday suppliers.

1. Are they a travel agent or a Tour operator ?

Especially at a local level, service from a tour operator is often higher than that of an agent as tour booked through local agents "can" risk the fact that the agent is purely passing on your booking to a 3rd party. This is not always the case, but it's something to think about. Comeback if you have problems is also to be considered as an agent can blame the 3rd party and vice versa.

2. Do they require a deposit or are they offering payment in full on arrival ?

If the company you are potentially booking through accept payment in full on arrival, it means one thing - your are NOT booked. While will a company risk booking hotels, tour guides, drivers etc on the of chance you may actually turn up ?

3. Do they accept credit cards as payment ?

This is important whether or not you are planning on paying that way. Accepting credit cards (especially in travel fields) will generally mean the company has been pretty well vetted and certainly will offer you some added assurances (and of course protection)

4. Do they offer Testimonials... ?

The second half of this question maybe the most important part, "Do they offer Testimonials...and can you contact them" ? If their testimonials are genuine then surely there is no reason why they can not be contacted.

5. Do they have a recognised complaints procedure ?

Any forward thinking and honest company will know that there will always be the odd problem. Having a complaints procedure in place shows that the company will not just try and fob you off, but from the ground up, they will try to fairly take care of any problems you may have.

Hopefully these 5 things may help you with regards to your future plans when considering a trip to a country such as Egypt

Stuart Cheese ? UK Director of Operations for One World Tours / www.oneworldtours.co.uk