Tourism in Egypt
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Tourism is a major foreign exchange earner in Egypt, with 5,506,179 foreign tourist arrivals in 2000.
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[edit] History
Earnings began to rise after the Iran-Iraq War as part of a continuing trend.[1] Between 1992 and 1997, there were 10 terrorist attacks in Egypt, all against tourists. Inbound tourism fell by 22% in 1992, and the worst terrorist attack against tourists in Egypt was in November 1997, when gunmen killed 59 tourists and 4 Egyptians. This affected Egypt's tourism earnings substantially (they took 2 years to recover), so the Egyptian government took steps to improve security. Since that change, tourist arrivals have been increasing.[2] Tourism earnings dropped in 2006, due to the many wars occuring in surrounding areas,[3] though visits from Indian tourists rose, with roughly 60,000 arrivals that year, an increase of 10,000 over 2005.[4] Tourism figures in Egypt grew by 20% in 2007 with roughly 10 million tourist arrivals according to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). The Egyptian government plans to have 14 million visitors by 2011.[5]
[edit] Attractions
The greatest tourist attractions in Egypt are the antiquities for which Egypt is known worldwide. Principal attractions include the pyramids and Great Sphinx at Giza, the Abu Simbel temples south of Aswan, the Valley of the Kings, and the Muhammad Ali Mosque in Cairo.[1]
[edit] Tourist information
Passports and visas are required of foreign visitors except natives of several Middle Eastern countries. Transit voyagers, however, that travel by ship or plane are not required to obtain visas. Travellers native to most of Africa must have proof of cholera and yellow fever vaccination.[1]
[edit] Statistics
In 2000, there were 5,506,179 foreign tourist arrivals, with over 3,800,000 from Europe, and receipts totaled more than $4.3 billion. In that year there were 113,611 rooms in hotels and 227,222 beds with a 73% occupancy rate. In 2002, the US government estimated the average daily cost of staying in Cairo to be about about $167, around the same as other major cities in Egypt.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Egypt: Tourism, travel, and recreation. Nations Encyclopedia. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ Agarwal, Sheela; Gareth Shaw (2007). Managing Coastal Tourism Resorts: A Global Perspective. Multilingual Matters, p.245. ISBN 1845410726.
- ^ View from Egypt
- ^ Egypt all set to woo Indian tourists
- ^ Buy In Egypt For Rising Rental Returns
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