The number of tourists visiting Egypt in the first half of the year rose by 11 percent over the same period last year, confirming that the tourism is recovering from the 1997 Luxor massacre, economy ministry figures show.
Nearly 2.66 million tourists visited Egypt in the first six months of the year, compared to some 2.40 million tourists who came here during January to June of 1999, according to statistics published this week.
Last year, a total of 4.79 million tourists visited Egypt.
This year's increase confirms that Egypt is rebounding from the plunge in business that followed the November 1997 massacre of 58 tourists in the southern city of Luxor by Muslim militants.
The ministry's figures show that 58 percent of the tourists come from western or southern Europe, 20 percent from the Middle East and and seven percent North America. – (AFP)
© Agence France Presse 2000
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
