France and Spain have eased their warnings against travel to the resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt's tourism ministry announced on Friday. The improving security situation in Egypt has seen four other European states lift their travel restrictions on south Sinai in recent weeks. Germany, Italy, Ireland and Denmark have all removed warnings against travel to the touristic hotspot. Tourism Minister Hisham Zaazou has been trying to get all such warnings removed. The travel advice was implemented in February, when a bomb blast on a tour bus in South Sinai killed three South Koreans and their Egyptian driver, and raised concerns about safety in Red Sea resorts. Tourists visiting Egypt in June declined 20.5 percent compared to the same period the year prior, according to the latest report by the ministry. A total of 785,652 foreign tourists spent 6.8 million nights in Egypt this June, compared to 988,573 spending almost eight million nights a year earlier. The report also showed that the first half of 2014 brought 4.4 million tourists to Egypt, a 25 percent drop from the same period the previous year. From January to June, most tourists came from Europe, with 3.4 million Europeans spending 32 million nights in Egypt. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/107133.aspx
