Egypt's tourism sector struggles to revive fortunes

By dpa correspondents Jan 28, 2012, 2:06 GMT

Hurghada, Egypt - The beaches are almost empty and taxi drivers jockey for customers in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Hurghada, once a bustling city, now desperately struggling to revive its tourism sector a year after the country's political revolution.

'No tourists simply means no money,' said diving instructor Mohamed, standing under a palm tree on a stretch of golden sand by the sea, where he spends his time pursuing water sports hobbies.

Tourism was a key pillar of Egypt's economy before the popular uprising that forced Hosny Mubarak to resign last year. It used to generate some 12.5 billion dollars in 2010. This figure fell by 30 per cent to 8.8 billion dollars in 2011.

Tourism businesses, which have slashed prices to attract tourists, says the drop is much higher.

'At the beginning of the winter season, the occupancy rate at our hotel was over 50 per cent,' said Mohamed Eiweida, sales manager at a five-star resort in Hurghada. 'At the moment, occupancy hardly stands at 15 per cent,' he added, saying that images of deadly clashes in Cairo three months ago had scared off many tourists.

Thousands of European holidaymakers used to visit resorts along the Red Sea in December and January, attracted by the sunshine and temperatures that reach as high as 25 degrees Celsius.

The tourism industry says the government's figures are not accurate - they argue the drop is sharper than the 30 per cent estimated for 2011 - because any foreign national who stays in Egypt longer than 24 hours is counted as a tourist.

This includes tens of thousands of Libyans who fled to Egypt to escape last year's civil war, as well as thousands of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.

'What keeps the hotel alive are the Russian tourists,' said Ibrahim Mazhar, who works as a public relations manager at a hotel. 'They do not care about politics or clashes, as long as the prices are low. Europeans are more careful.'

European tourists, who make up the largest group of visitors to Egypt, fell by 35 per cent to 7.2 million last year, compared to 11.1 million in 2010, according to government figures.

Tourism accounts for 11.3 per cent of Egypt's gross domestic product, and many of the country's 80 million inhabitants rely on the sector for a living.

'With all this mayhem, Egypt attracted over 9 million tourists in 2011, which proves the country is still a top tourist destination,' Tourism Minister Munir Fakhri Abdul Nur said recently.

However, many are sceptical.

Islamists won almost 70 per cent of the seats in Egypt's freest parliamentary elections and some parties, like the hardline Salafist Al-Nour, want to enforce gender-segregated beaches with restrictions on bikinis and alcohol. This could spell disaster for an industry that relies on European tourists.

'It is our fourth visit to the Red Sea and we hope to return next year,' said an English tourist. 'But vacation under Islamic rules is not what we have in mind.'

There are also fears of violence between police and liberal and secular activists who have vowed to continue protesting until Egypt's military rulers hand over power to a civilian government.

Ahmed Tomoum, an entrepreneur who owns a bar in Hurghada's posh New Marina area, says that he will be forced to shut down if business remains weak.

'I recently began another project to export textile. If tourism does not pick up in the coming months, I will sell the bar and concentrate on my other project,' he said.