Tourism rates dropped by 28.5 percent in January according to the latest official statistics, the government's top tourism official told Al-Masry Al-Youm Friday.
Samy Mahmoud, head of the international tourism department at the Tourism Ministry, said rates had especially declined from Russia, Israel, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
Israeli tourism dropped 60 percent at the same time last year, amid tensions on the Egypt-Israel border and Egypt's degraded security situation, he said. He added that tourism from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia fell 33 and 9 percent, respectively.
Mahmoud warned that this decline may lead to similar decline in the flow of foreign currency to the state treasury.
The Tourism Ministry and Tourism Promotion Agency have developed a plan to restore tourism rates to their former level, he said. There are several programs, including shows and performances in squares, theaters and churches around Egypt, that aim to send messages of peace and love to tourists all over the world and encourage them to visit Egypt.
The Tourism Ministry has stated that tourism in 2011 declined 33 percent from the year before.
The government has said that the state of uncertainty that has prevailed since the outbreak of the 25 January revolution, as well as periodic outbreaks of violence over last year and into 2012, have discouraged tourists from visiting the country.
Tourism is a source of much-needed foreign currency for Egypt. Analysts say one of the country's most pressing problems is the slide in foreign reserves, as tourism and export earnings suffer from the unrest and capital flees the country.
Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
