Egypt’s tourism revenue drops by 15% in 3rd Q of 2015: official | Cairo Post

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Egypt's tourism revenue drops by 15% in 3rd Q of 2015: official

Nov. 10, 2015 11:16

Tourists during their visit to the pyramids - YOUM7

By Rany Mostafa

CAIRO: Egypt's tourism revenues decreased by 15 percent in the 3rd quarter of 2015 compared to the same period last year, said tourism ministry economic advisor Adala Ragab Monday.

"The tourism revenues in the third quarter of 2015 reached $1.7 billion down from$2 billion in the same period last year," Ragab was quoted by Al Borsa business newspaper.

The number of tourists visiting Egypt during the third quarter of 2015 declined by 7 percent registering 2.5 million tourists, down from 2.3 million during the same period last year, according to Ragab.

Tourism revenues rose 27 percent to $7.5 billion in 2014 from $5.9 billion in 2013, according to the annual report of the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS.)

The Russian plane crash that killed 224 passengers and crew Oct. 31 is expected to have a bad impact on Egypt's tourism industry which has been already harmed following the 2011 uprising that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak.

Following the crash, swift decisions were taken by a number of countries including Germany, Russia, France and the UK to evacuate their tourists from the resort town, after reports that a bomb may have been the cause.

More than 3 million Russian tourists visited Egypt in 2014 with 1.7 million visitors over the course of the first seven months of 2015, Tourism Minister Hisham Zaazou stated following the crash.

Russian tourism investments in Egypt reached 2 billion EGP ($250 million) in 2014, he added.

Egypt's tourism sector represents 11 percent of the country's GDP with at least 6 million employees engaged in the industry.