EGYPT LOSING ITS LIVELIHOOD : TOURISM MORE DANGEROUS IN EGYPT THAN YEMEN STUDY CLAIMS

One of Egypt's few and lucrative resources might just disappear.  For a long time, the Egyptian ruins and fabulous pyramids were a must for any world travelers.  Many of the people who live in Cairo make their living in the tourist trade.

However, since the revolution, Egypt has become divided and polarized, with riots and skirmishes breaking out daily in the streets between radical factions and the more centrist, democratic loving, opposition.

People are staying away.  News of violence, instability, and an increasingly radical islamic minority's activity in the streets are ruining a once flourishing trade. 

Just this month, a bedouin group kidnapped a British couple that were vacationing in Sharm El Sheikh.  They were released, but the same group has taken other hostages and attacked police buildings in the past.  

In February, armed radicals stormed the Intercontinental hotel in Cairo, a luxury hotel, and forced the management to shutter the hotel until it can put in place security devices and other measures to avoid a repetition of the incident.

Of 140 countries that were scrutinized for travel safety, Egypt landed in 85th place overall, ten spots below where it was just a year ago.  But when it ranked it for safety alone Egypt was at 140, the last place, even worse than places considered dangerous to most visitors like Chad, and Yemen.  

Tourism is a very large part of the Egyptian economy.  It generates 11.3 % of revenues for the country.  In 2010, before the turmoil ensued, Egypt had nearly 15 million visitors, who contributed 12.5 billion in revenue.  That has already fallen to 10.5 billion last year.

Another problem is that there are not enough boats on the Nile, one of the most coveted tours of the city, after 400 of them were lost during the uprising.  

Egyptian tourism authorities however believe that media coverage is making Egypt look much worse than it really is, a sentiment echoed by a few tourist to Cairo who were interviewed.  

Much of the loss come from North America, as tourists from the US are avoiding the country in fear of reprisal from islamist radicals.  

But the truth is that only certain areas are truly hotspots of violence, and if tourists are careful to avoid them, the risk posed is no greater than that of a a decade ago.

Source: NBC news 3.13.13