"Pushy bazaar merchants and poor waiter service are a bigger threat to Egypt's tourism industry than the bombs of militants, Tourism Minister Zoheir Garranah said in an interview.
Garranah said figures to be released Sunday would show that tourist arrivals held up in 2006 despite a devastating April suicide bombing in the Red Sea resort of Dahab that killed 20 people including several foreign holidaymakers. A record 9.81 million tourists added 7.6 billion dollars to Egypt's economy last year, the minister said.
But he said Egypt could not afford to rest on its laurels as the figures fell below target, largely because of what he described as poor human resources.
Many tourists complained of being harassed by touts and leave the country with a bitter taste vowing never to return, he said, adding that this was causing greater harm to the industry than the spate of bombings that have rocked Sinai resorts since 2004."
Garranah said figures to be released Sunday would show that tourist arrivals held up in 2006 despite a devastating April suicide bombing in the Red Sea resort of Dahab that killed 20 people including several foreign holidaymakers. A record 9.81 million tourists added 7.6 billion dollars to Egypt's economy last year, the minister said.
But he said Egypt could not afford to rest on its laurels as the figures fell below target, largely because of what he described as poor human resources.
Many tourists complained of being harassed by touts and leave the country with a bitter taste vowing never to return, he said, adding that this was causing greater harm to the industry than the spate of bombings that have rocked Sinai resorts since 2004."
See the above page for the full story.
1 comment:
Previous spam comment deleted.
Andie
Post a Comment