Rebooting Egypt's important tourism industry

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• published: 03 Aug 2015
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LEADIN: Egyptian officals are hoping the country's tourism industry is on the road to recovery after several difficult years following the country's 2011 revolution. But after a deadly militant attack killed 30 soldiers in northern Sinai last week, there are renewed fears that tourists may choose to stay away. STORYLINE: These tourists are visiting Egypt's most famous tourist attraction, the anicent Pyramids of Giza. In the past, the plateau used to be crowded with tourists from all over the world, but today, a fraction of those numbers are visiting the wonders. From a high of more than 14 million tourists in 2010, only around 9.6 million came to Egypt in 2011. And in 2013, 9.5 million tourists came, according to Tourism Ministry figures. Since the uprising in 2011 triggered a period of prolonged social unrest, many of Egypt's hotels, beaches and famed ancient sites have been largely deserted. But with a new President and a growing economy, it's hoped tourists will return. These visitors are certainly delighted with their trip. "The country is amazing and there is no problem. It's really good because you can see everything with security and they are really nice," says Marta Gonzales, visiting from Spain. Guillermo Romero has travelled all the way from Argentina to visit Egypt. He says: "It's good, really good." The tourism industry is the second largest sector of Egypt's economy, behind remittances from Egyptians working abroad. So it is vital to revive it and bring much needed foreign currency into the country. But Nagy Erian, vice chairman of the tourist hotels division at the Cairo Chamber of Commerce, warns a recovery will take time. "The recovery of the tourism business will come in stages and not at once. The first problem we have to overcome is how to regain the trust of the foreign tourists from Europe and the United States, that Egypt is now safe." Until last week, Egyptian officials were becoming increasingly optimistic of recovery, claiming the latest tourism figures show signs of improvement after a number of key countries lifted their travel warnings to the Sinai Peninsula. But on Friday, a coordinated assault on an army checkpoint in the Sinai Penninsula killed 30 Egyptian troops, in the single deadliest attack on the military in decades. Militants launched a complex assault on the checkpoint that involved a car bomb possibly detonated by a suicide attacker, rocket-propelled grenades and roadside bombs placed to target rescuers. Egypt declared a state of emergency and imposed an overnight curfew in the restive northern part of the peninsula following the attack. Erian says terrorist attacks like this will have an adverse affect on Egypt's economy. "What is happening around Egypt, in Syria and Yemen, and those terrorist groups has a great effect on the tourism industry and the Egyptian economy in general," he says. On Saturday, vehicles carrying the bodies of the soldiers left Almaza military airport after a funeral possession was held inside the air base. Walid El Batouty from the World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations is asking tourists to remain calm. He says the attacks, some nine miles (15 kilometres) from the northern Sinai city of el-Arish, in an area called Karm el-Qawadees, are far from any tourist hot-spots. "The site of the attack is totally away from places visited by tourists, maybe some people are confused when they hear Sinai but this (the attack) happened in North Sinai, and all the tourism is in South Sinai which is totally secure." He hopes last week's attacks will not put people off from visiting the country. Last week, hundreds of visitors queued to catch a glimpse of an ancient statue of the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses lit up by the early morning sunlight. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/c87ed4d87d5edcdf47c02b3105e7c8a1 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork