Egypt’s tourism revenues have dropped by approximately USD 1.3 billion since the crash of the Russian Metrojet airliner in the Sinai Peninsula last year, Reuters quoted Prime Minister Sherif Ismail as saying in a television interview on Monday. “After the plane crash, over the past three or four months, we lost around $1.2 billion or $1.3 billion in revenues,” said the Prime Minister. On Wednesday last week, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for the first time said that the Russian plane was brought down by terrorists “attempting to damage” Egypt’s tourism industry as well as its relations with Moscow. “Has terrorism ended? No, it has not, but it will if we unite. Whoever downed the Russian plane, what did he mean? He meant to hit tourism, and to hit relations with Russia,” al-Sisi said in the televised speech. Following the plane crash, which killed all 224 passengers aboard, Russia halted all civilian flights to Egypt, saying that a bomb had been responsible for the downing. Although the Egyptian investigation is not finalized, an EgyptAir mechanic, whose cousin has gone to Syria to join the so-called Islamic State, is suspected of having…
Egypt’s Tourism Revenues Declined $1.3 Billion Since Downing of Russian Plane: Prime Minister
March 1, 2016
