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Egypt Tourism almost halved in Q1

The number of tourists visiting Egypt dropped 46% in Q1, according to a government statement.

Hotel reservations slumped by 34% to 21 million nights, compared to 32 million in the same period last year. Egypt lost around $2bn in tourism revenue. Egypt’s tourism sector has been badly affected since nationwide protests broke out in January, forcing President Hosni Mubarak to resign.

“The tourism industry is still affected by the recent events in Egypt causing a great decline in the number of tourists. 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,” said the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).

Egypt’s economy dropped an estimated 7% in Q1. The International Monetary Fund has projected growth of 1% this year, down from 5.1% in 2010.

Jenni Baker, London