Egypt tourism revenue down 66 pct in Q1 2016

DUBAI, April 25 (Reuters) - Egypt netted just $500 million
in tourism revenue in the first quarter of 2016, down from $1.5
billion a year earlier, a tourism ministry adviser told Reuters,
highlighting the country's struggle to kickstart a key
dollar-earning industry.
Egypt's tourism industry, a cornerstone of the economy and
critical source of hard currency, has been struggling to rebound
after the political and economic upheaval triggered by the 2011
uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule.
Tourism revenue has also taken a heavy hit since a Russian
plane crashed in the Sinai last October, killing all 224 people
on board in what President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called an act of
terrorism. Islamic State said it planted a bomb on board.
More than 14.7 million tourists visited Egypt in 2010,
dropping to 9.8 million in 2011.
In the first quarter of 2016 just 1.2 million tourists
travelled to Egypt, down from 2.2 million a year earlier, said
economic adviser to the ministry of tourism Adla Ragab.
Egypt aims to attract 12 million tourists by the end of 2017
through a plan that includes increasing the presence of national
carrier EgyptAir abroad, tourism minister Yehia Rashed said in a
recent interview with Reuters. ID:nL3N17B2J4
"Many European airlines have halted flights to Sharm El
Sheikh. It's too early to say what the long-term impact of the
Russian plane crash will be," said an analyst at hotel industry
consultants STR.
The torture of Italian graduate student Giulio Regeni, whose
body was dumped on the side of a road in February, has also
damaged Egypt's image abroad.
Egyptian intelligence and police sources told Reuters the
police had custody of Regeni at some point before he died, but
Egyptian officials have strongly denied any involvement in
Regeni's death, saying he was never in their custody.
ID:nL5N17O7GG
The Regeni case has brought allegations of widespread police
brutality in Egypt under sharper focus.