With Few Foreign Visitors, Egypt's Economy Suffers
2020-10-05
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1At the Pyramids of Giza, a few tourists walk among Egypt's ancient wonders.
2At Red Sea resorts, visitor numbers are well below what they were in earlier years.
3Coronavirus cases in Egypt remain under control.
4But, officials, hotel owners and tour guides agree that the tourism season, starting in October, is going to be difficult.
5That could be bad news for the economy.
6Tourism makes up to around 15 percent of Egypt's economy.
7Officials said the economy was losing around $1 billion each month after tourism mostly stopped in March.
8Since July 1, 220,000 tourists have visited the Red Sea province and South Sinai, which is home to the Sharm el-Sheikh resort.
9That number represents less than 10 percent of last year's levels, said Ghada Shalaby, a deputy minister at the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
10Egypt has asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for $8 billion in new loans this year.
11Samir is a trader who has been working at the pyramids south of Cairo for around 30 years.
12"We used to see about 50 buses here. Now there are none," he said.
13He has been selling his possessions to pay for his son's school fees.
14"We only had one bus, a week ago, full of Russians. They took some photos and left."
15Westerners often come to see Egypt's historic sites and golden sands between October and May.
16They want to avoid the cold at home and the heat of Egypt's summer.
17Shalaby said visitors are slowly returning to the resorts by the sea.
18But Shalaby said that safety was more important than increasing tourism numbers.
19Nile cruises will likely begin in October, but it is unlikely that bookings will pick up without a return of charter flights.
20"We hope that next year tourism will be working," said Tharwat Agamy of the Egyptian Travel Agents Association.
21The Egyptian government has moved to protect the tourism industry with emergency financing.
22More than 9,000 tour guides will receive $32 monthly until the end of the year.
23Officially recorded daily coronavirus cases have fallen to under 200 from about 1,500 in the middle of June.
24Officials say the places that tourists visit and hotels are subject to controls.
25Those entering the country are required to take PCR tests, a special kind of medical test.
26But the European Union has not added Egypt to its safe travel list.
27At Cairo's Khan al Khalili market, a popular place for tourists, many stores are closed.
28"There is no one," said Sayed Abdel Khaleq, a silver shop owner.
29I'm John Russell.
1At the Pyramids of Giza, a few tourists walk among Egypt's ancient wonders. At Red Sea resorts, visitor numbers are well below what they were in earlier years. 2Coronavirus cases in Egypt remain under control. But, officials, hotel owners and tour guides agree that the tourism season, starting in October, is going to be difficult. 3That could be bad news for the economy. Tourism makes up to around 15 percent of Egypt's economy. Officials said the economy was losing around $1 billion each month after tourism mostly stopped in March. 4Since July 1, 220,000 tourists have visited the Red Sea province and South Sinai, which is home to the Sharm el-Sheikh resort. That number represents less than 10 percent of last year's levels, said Ghada Shalaby, a deputy minister at the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. 5Egypt has asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for $8 billion in new loans this year. 6Samir is a trader who has been working at the pyramids south of Cairo for around 30 years. 7"We used to see about 50 buses here. Now there are none," he said. He has been selling his possessions to pay for his son's school fees. 8"We only had one bus, a week ago, full of Russians. They took some photos and left." 9Westerners often come to see Egypt's historic sites and golden sands between October and May. They want to avoid the cold at home and the heat of Egypt's summer. 10Shalaby said visitors are slowly returning to the resorts by the sea. But Shalaby said that safety was more important than increasing tourism numbers. 11Nile cruises will likely begin in October, but it is unlikely that bookings will pick up without a return of charter flights. 12"We hope that next year tourism will be working," said Tharwat Agamy of the Egyptian Travel Agents Association. 13The Egyptian government has moved to protect the tourism industry with emergency financing. More than 9,000 tour guides will receive $32 monthly until the end of the year. 14Officially recorded daily coronavirus cases have fallen to under 200 from about 1,500 in the middle of June. 15Officials say the places that tourists visit and hotels are subject to controls. Those entering the country are required to take PCR tests, a special kind of medical test. But the European Union has not added Egypt to its safe travel list. 16At Cairo's Khan al Khalili market, a popular place for tourists, many stores are closed. 17"There is no one," said Sayed Abdel Khaleq, a silver shop owner. 18I'm John Russell. 19Mahmoud Mourad, Nadeen Ebrahim reported on this story for Reuters. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 20_____________________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22tourist - n. a person who travels to a place for pleasure 23resort - n. a place where people go for vacations 24cruise - n. to travel on a boat or ship to a number of places as a vacation 25fee - n. an amount of money that must be paid 26photo - n. an image made from a camera 27booking - n. an arrangement to have something (such as a room, seat, or place) held for your use at a later time 28charter - adj. hired for temporary use 29We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.