Key pillar
THE beaches are almost empty and taxi drivers jockey for customers in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Hurghada, once a bustling city, now desperately struggling to revive its tourism sector a year after the country's political revolution. "No tourists simply means no money," said diving instructor Mohamed, standing near on a stretch of golden sand by the sea, where he spends his time pursuing water sports hobbies.
Tourism was a key pillar of Egypt's economy before the popular uprising last year. It used to generate some $12.5 billion in 2010. This gure fell by 30 per cent to $8.8 billion in 2011. Tourism businesses, which have slashed prices to attract tourists, says the drop is much higher.
"At the beginning of the winter season, the occupancy rate at our hotel was over 50 per cent," said Mohamed Eiweida, sales manager at a ve-star resort in Hurghada. "At the moment, occupancy hardly stands at 15 per cent," he added, saying that images of deadly clashes in Cairo three months ago had scared off many tourists.
Thousands of European holidaymakers used to visit resorts along the Red Sea in December and January, attracted by the sunshine and temperatures that reach as high as 25 degrees Celsius. The tourism industry says the government's gures are not accurate — they argue the drop is sharper than the 30 per cent estimated for 2011 — because any foreign national who stays in Egypt longer than 24 hours is counted as a tourist.
This includes tens of thousands of Libyans who ed to Egypt to escape last year's civil war, as well as thousands of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
"What keeps the hotel alive are the Russian tourists," said Ibrahim Mazhar, who works at a hotel.
"They do not care about politics or clashes, as long as the prices are low. Europeans are more careful." European tourists, who make up the largest group of visitors, fell by 35 per cent to 7.2 million last year, compared to 11.1 million in 2010.
Tourism accounts for 11.3 per cent of Egypt's gross domestic product, and many of the country's 80 million inhabitants rely on the sector for a living. "With all this mayhem, Egypt attracted over 9 million tourists in 2011, which proves the country is still a top tourist destination," Tourism Minister Munir Fakhri Abdul Nur said recently.