Having just returned from a trip to the Red Sea in Hurghada, I am all too aware of the Egyptian hard selling style!

The strange thing is that this seemingly desparate method of selling really puts the punter off, well certainly if you are British, we hate the hard sell. I am sure no one likes to be put upon and forced into a shop or to buy something we don’t want, but the Egyptians don’t seem to understand this concept.

It dawned on me that, having read books and having been on selling courses, you are told that you must not come across as being ‘desparate’, as this will be picked upon by the buyer. This all made sense, but finally made complete sense in Egypt.

I was talking to a travel rep on my last day and she was asking us whether we would be coming back to Hurghada and, apart from the usual Pharos revenge which is almost as hard to avoid, I mentioned the hassling by the Egyptian shop owners….