Egypt tourism down 46 percent in q1

The number of tourists visiting Egypt dropped by 46 percent during the first quarter this year, according to a government statement.

"Tourists coming to Egypt during the period from January to March were around 1.9 million compared to 3.5 million in the same period last year," Xinhua quoted the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) as saying in the statement.

Hotel reservation in the first quarter slumped by 34 percent to 21 million nights against 32 million in the first quarter last year.

The tourism sector, one of the country's economic pillars, has been badly affected since the nationwide protests that broke out in January forced president Hosni Mubarak to resign. 

Source: NewKerala.com