Egyptian tourism recovers from September 11 bad effects
Egypt, Economics, 8/16/2002

Egyptian Minister of Tourism Mamdouh al-Beltagui announced that Egyptian tourism last July gained remarkable heights, and for the first time since the international crisis that followed September 11 events, the international tourism to Egypt has reached increasing rates.

Figures and official statements issued by the Passport Department of the Interior Ministry and the Central Agency for General Mobilization and Statistics indicated that the numbers of foreign tourists visiting Egypt (Arabs and foreigners) came close to half a million; 495,000 tourists to be exact during July 2002, with an increase of 6 percent.

"As for the tourist nights, they reached 2.7 million nights with 0.4% increase compared to the July 2001 ordinary inflows before the eruption of the world crisis of September 11," Beltagui said.

The figures confirmed that July 2002 increases exceed achievements of same month of previous years till 1994, with the exception of the year 1994, which is considered the peak year of the Egyptian tourism.

The Tourism Minister added that the outstanding results of July 2002 have contributed to the ongoing decrease in the recession rates during the cumulative period of January - July 2002 where the number of tourists reached 2.7 million.

Beltagui pinpointed that these outcomes reveal, according to the testimony of world tourist agencies that Egypt was not only the first to restore normal rates of tourist movement among the Middle East and the south Mediterranean countries, but it was also the first to achieve a growth rate compared to the pre-crisis rates.

This was naturally an outcome of the efforts, policies and programs carried out by the Ministry of Tourism at various levels during the past years.

Beltagui emphasized that the ministry is keen on handling the situation with the crisis containment policy for maintaining the growth rates that have been realized in numbers of tourists and touristic nights, provided that the situations in the region will not deteriorate due to the US threats of striking Iraq or the escalation of confrontation between Israel and Palestinians that might have negative impact on the rates of touristic influx from various foreign markets to Egypt and to the countries of the region in general.

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