A government report released on Thursday said Egypt lost over LE10 billion in its tourism, industry, and construction sectors due to the 18-day mass pro-democracy revolt that had led to the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak. According to the report, issued by the Central Agency for Public Moblization and Statistics (CAPMAS), Greater Cairo, the Suez Canal cities, Alexandria, and 10th of Ramadan City were the most affected by losses in the processing industries sector, which have been estimated at LE3.7 billion during the period between 28 January and 5 February. The total construction sector losses stand at LE762.3 million, according to the report. Other losses resulted from tourism reservation cancellations and a drop in earnings for tourism workers during February. The report notes that tourism has been gravely affected by Egypt's recent developments. February reservations were cancelled in late January, amounting to losses of USD825 million (LE4.8 billion). About 210,000 tourists left Egypt at the end of January, which meant expenditures on tourism plummeted by US$178 million (roughly LE1 billion) that week. According to the report, tourist facilities were consequently forced to dismiss temporary staff and decrease salaries for permanent workers for a total loss in income of LE70 million.
