Impact of bombings on tourism

http://tinyurl.com/h4czn (Reuters)

"Tourist bookings to Egypt have dropped since last month's attack that killed 18 people at a Sinai resort but the tourism minister said on Monday he hoped to attract an extra one million visitors in 2006. Tourism Minister Zoheir Garrana said between 1 and 2 percent of existing hotel bookings had been cancelled since the attack at Dahab on April 24 and Egypt could lose out on some last minute holiday bookings in the short term. "We have a target to attract an extra one million tourists a year. I think we are going to achieve this figure in spite of what happened," he told Reuters in an interview in Dubai. "What is encouraging is that the rate of (forward) bookings is maintaining its growth. Life has to go on and it's business as usual. We have very good indications for the summer." Bombs killed 67 people in Sharm El Sheikh in July 2005 and the trend is worrying because tourism is one of Egypt's biggest contributors to the economy and a major source of foreign exchange."

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