Russian propaganda imposed on tourists in Egypt: Top hotels involved in scandal
Hotels in Egypt impose Russian propaganda on tourists (collage: RBC-Ukraine)
Ukrainian tourists vacationing in Egyptian hotels report a disturbing trend: they are handed out bulletins with Russian propaganda at the reception desks. These materials contain distorted information about the war, distorting reality and imposing Kremlin narratives.
What is known about propaganda leaflets in Egyptian hotels
Pro-Russian bulletins, which are almost forcibly handed out to Ukrainian vacationers in popular hotels in Sharm el-Sheikh, Hurghada, and other resort cities, began appearing at reception desks last year.
Their name, "Good Morning News," at first suggests that the content of the papers should be "morning positive." However, this is not the case.
For example, in the March 2024 newsletter, the top news item in the "newspaper" was a story that allegedly "confirmed Ukraine's connection to the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack." At the same time, all the news in the leaflet are reprints of materials from the Russian news agency Interfax, whose chief executive officer is Mikhail Komissar, a member of Roskomnadzor.
Propaganda in Jaz Aquamarine (photo: RBC-Ukraine)
In the most recent issue of Good Morning News of March 24, 2025, tourists are told that "the Armed Forces of Ukraine and foreign mercenaries have been attacked in the Kyiv region." Again, with reference to the Russian Interfax news agency.
Propaganda bulletin at the Sunrise Montemare Resort (photo: RBC-Ukraine).
It is worth noting that the same bulletins are distributed not only in Russian: propaganda narratives are also presented in German, English and French, among others.
Propaganda bulletin in French (photo: RBC-Ukraine)
According to the information contained on the newsletters themselves, KVH Media Group Ltd, a Liverpool-based publishing house, is responsible for printing and publishing these materials. This subsidiary of KVH Industries, Inc. is engaged in, among other things, "providing media and content services to hotels."
However, in the past, Good Morning News newsletters have been published primarily in English, and the information in them has not been propaganda, as evidenced by the 2023 newsletter for The Ravenala Attitude in Mauritius.
The 2023 English newsletter at The Ravenala Attitude in Mauritius (photo: hotels-attitude.com)
Interestingly, about a year ago, one of the users gave KVH Media Group Ltd a low rating in Google Reviews because the information published in its newsletters "seems biased".
How do hotels react to the scandal
As RBC-Ukraine has learned, pro-Russian propaganda is being imposed in top Egyptian hotels that are popular among Ukrainians. For example, in the hotels of the Sunrise Resorts & Cruises chain, which includes Sunrise Meraki Resort, Tanoak Hotel, Sunrise Montemare Resort, Sunrise Crystal Bay Resort, and others.
A propaganda leaflet was spotted at the Sunrise Montemare Resort on March 24 (photo: Tripadvisor)
Ukrainian tourists have also encountered such leaflets in the hotels of the JAZ Hotel Group, a chain that includes Jaz Aquamarine, Jaz Makadina, Jaz Fanara Resort, Solymar Ivory Suites, Jaz Mirabel Resort, etc.
Moreover, such postcards have even been spotted at the 5-star Sun Siyam Iru Fushi resort in the Maldives.
It's important to note that these leaflets are not just on information stands in hotel lobbies. Ukrainian tourists say that they are given out right at the reception desk. This suggests that it is resort employees who are interested in imposing propaganda.
However, at the same time, for example, in the 4-star Sunrise Remal Resort in Sharm el-Sheikh, which belongs to the Sunrise Resorts & Cruises chain, Ukrainian tourists did not notice such newsletters. Hotel representatives emphasized that they do not spread propaganda, but on the contrary, they love Ukrainians very much and even made inscriptions in Ukrainian on the signs.
There is no Russian language on the signs at Sunrise Remal Resort, but there is Ukrainian (photo: RBC-Ukraine)
Travel agents claim that they wrote complaints to hotel administrations. They deny any involvement in the production of propaganda leaflets. However, they say nothing about distribution.
"Back in December, our tourists complained about the news brochures. We wrote to the hotel, but they denied that it was the hotel that was publishing this newspaper. My colleagues also wrote in a specialized group for Ukrainian travel agents who have faced similar situations," Marina Kazakova, a specialist in visa processing and tour selection, told RBC-Ukraine.
In early March, the Jaz Aquamarine assured that they had removed the leaflets from their hotel, emphasizing that "this newspaper is a third-party source of international news," and the Egyptian hotel could not even physically release such material because "our employees cannot speak or read Russian or Ukrainian."
"We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused... We have already removed all relevant newspapers and personally apologized to all affected guests. We welcome guests from all over the world and strive to provide a comfortable and enjoyable stay for everyone. We appreciate your understanding and patience as we continue to improve our services," the administration said in a response to dissatisfied Ukrainian travel agents.
It should be noted that Sunrise Resorts & Cruises did not respond to RBC-Ukraine's request at the time of writing. Therefore, we were unable to find out whether the chain's hotels plan to continue to be a platform for Russian disinformation.
In general, the situation with the imposition of Russian propaganda in Egyptian hotels is extremely alarming for tourists. The latest incidents emphasize the importance of carefully choosing a vacation destination and the need to be vigilant about the information environment even abroad.
Massive complaints from Ukrainian citizens and citizens of other countries about such manifestations of disinformation can become an effective tool to put pressure on the hotel business and force hotel administrations to take measures to prevent the spread of hostile narratives in the future.
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