Egypt’s tourism sector earned $1.53 billion during the first quarter of this year, according to a statistical study carried out in the North African country.
Tourism is Egypt’s biggest industry and its largest hard currency earner, said Kuwait’s official news agency (KUNA), noting that 5.5 million tourists visited the Arab state last year.
Al Alaam Al Yawm, an economic daily, said the latest figures indicated that this year’s tourism receipts could reach a record $6 billion.
The daily said revenues from tourism reached $4.35 billion last year compared to $4.30 billion in 1999.
The newspaper also said that tourism made up 26.5 percent of the Egyptian national income in terms of foreign currency, covering 35 percent of the country’s trade deficit – Albawaba.com
