| Egypt's tourism revenues fall 30 percent |
| Last Updated(Beijing Time):2012-01-16 03:43 |
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Egypt's tourism revenues hit 8.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2011, a 30-percent drop from 12.5 billion dollars in 2010, Minister of Tourism Munir Abdel Nour said on Sunday.
The number of tourist arrivals plunged 33 percent to 9.8 million in 2011 from 14.7 million in 2010, the minister said.
Tourists spent 114 million nights in Egypt compared with 141 million nights in 2010. Each tourist's daily expenditure fell from 85 dollars to 72 dollars.
The minister attributed the decline of tourism to instability in the country in the wake of the political turmoil. He expected the sector to improve in 2012.
Tourism generates 11 percent of the country's gross domestic product national income and provides job opportunities for around 3 million people, or one-eighth of the country's work force. |
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