Continued instability and sectarian conflict, which discourages tourism, could lead to the closure of tourist companies within 2 months, warned Elhamy al-Zayat, chairman of the Egyptian Tourism Federation. Zayat said that he received many inquiries from western countries including Australia, the United States and England about attacks on Egyptian churches. He expected a delay in a tourist rebound if the current situation continued, and pointed out that tourism provides 3.2 million jobs in Egypt, many of which would be lost. He opposed continued demonstrations even if they came under names such as "Friday of national unity," and called for expressing unity in other ways. “The situation has become critical to the extent of distorting the civilized image of Egypt promoted by the 25 January revolution,” he said. Zayat stressed that legal measures must be taken against foreign tourist companies that owe debts to Egyptian agents. The Chamber of Tour Operators and Travel Agencies decided to ban deals between Egyptian tourism companies and 44 foreign tourism companies until the latter pays their debts. In case Egyptian companies do not commit to the decision, the chamber's board of directors will enforce sanctions on these companies. Possible sanctions include shutting down violators for one month to three months, withdrawing their licenses for 6 months to a year, and canceling companies' membership in the federation.
