Egypt’s tourism takes a dive

The number of tourists arriving in Egypt fell by 45.7 percent to nearly 1.9 million between January and March of this year, according to a government report issued by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).

In the same period in 2010, the country received 3.5 million tourists, according to the report, which noted a sharp decrease in February and March 2011.

The biggest drop was in the number of Eastern European tourists, whose numbers fell by 59.1 percent. Western Europe arrivals had the second largest drop-off, at 42.2 percent, CAPMAS said.

The report added that Western Europe contributed the most tourists during the first quarter of this year (at 48.8 percent), followed by Eastern Europe (23.9 percent), the Middle East (12.7 percent), and Africa (4.8 percent).