The number of tourists visiting Egypt in March dropped by 47.2 percent in comparison to the same month last year, according to the latest numbers from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). According to the state statistics body, a total of 440,700 tourists visited Egypt during March, with Western Europeans comprising 37.2 percent – the biggest chunk – of those tourists and Middle Easterners amounting to 28.2 percent. The March numbers mark the fifth consecutive month that tourism numbers have declined in Egypt. Egypt’s tourism revenues have accordingly fallen sharply; last month, Reuters reported that total earnings in the first quarter of 2016 dropped by 66 percent to USD 500 million, from USD 1.5 during the same period in 2015. The tourism sector, a vital part of the economy and a key source of hard currency, has been hard-hit by last year’s downing of a Russian airliner which was claimed by a group affiliated with the Islamic State, and killed all 224 people onboard. Russia halted all flights to Egypt following the incident but has vowed to recommence flights as soon as sufficient security measures are implemented….
