The absence of security poses a significant challenge to the tourism industry in Luxor, a main tourist center in Egypt. “Tourism police don't provide adequate safety measures for the temples and the historic sites,” said a tour guide named Ahmed Saeed. “There were many cases of tourists being harassed in the street and the police don't intervene.” Since the end of January, the city's temples have been subjected to various attacks from looters. The most prominent case was an attack at Karnak Temple in which bystanders apprehended the culprits. However, no significant case of vandalism has been reported in Luxor – unlike Aswan, where looters attempted to steal a statue of Ramses II, but were chased away by people and guards at the site. But in June, number of thugs attacked a residential compound for touristsin the Aswan. After destroying its wall, they were apprehended by workers in the compound. “This is the worst scenario, to have other bloody attacks. After this incident, many tourists left the city. Tourists come here to enjoy and the first condition of enjoying is being safe. Police should appear permanently,” said Ahmed Sabry, a Luxor-based tour guide in his thirties. The absence of police has caused tourists to disappear, say local tourist workers. Some argue that this season is the worst tourist season since the massacre of tourists in 1997, when six men gunned down 62 people at mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut. In addition to the weak presence of the security forces, the rise of xenophobia - especially in Cairo - and the uncertainty surrounding the political future of the nation, have taken their toll on the earnings of tourist companies. Last month, for example, Orascom Development (OD), a builder and operator of luxury resorts reported a net loss of US$17.5 million compared to a profit of US$50.9 million a year earlier. Revenues fell by 62 percent. Following plans to attract tourists, by which hotels reduced their rates by half, hotels occupancy rates in Sharm el-Sheikh increased to 61 percent, according Salem Saleh, chairman of the General Authority for Tourism Authority in South Sinai. Experts believe that the increase is due to the removal of former President Hosni Mubarak from to Cairo, where he currently stands trial. Tourism in Cairo is also hard hit, with occupancy rates declining to 40.9 percent, said STR Global, a research center which focuses on tourism and hotel occupancy. The scene is gloomier in the recently established Savoy Market, a shopping center which contains bazaars and antiques shops. “As you can see, most of the shops in the market are closed. I sit here in my shop for more than ten hours and don't have one single client,” said Mansour Shafei, who works at one of the bazaars. The same complaints can be heard in a parking area for horse drawn carriages located close to Luxor's main Abu al-Hagag square, a few meters away from the Temple of Luxor. “There's no work,” Fathi Alaraby, an owner of a horse-drawn carriage told Al-Masry Al-Youm. “I fear that I won't be able to afford food for the house, so I'll be forced to sell the horse,” he added. But what is “heartbreaking,” according to Mohsen Nada, an accountant, is that the ousted regime was using Luxor as a tool to market the country to foreigners. But “no attention was paid to residents of Luxor,” he said. At Luxor Temple, the renowned Avenue of Sphinxes can be seen lacking any protection. The ousted regime had planned to launch a US$11 million dollar project to unearth and restore the ancient 2.7-kilometer avenue. Hundreds of houses were completely demolished for the project, and many evicted families say that they did not receive compensation. “They threw the people away, and then they left the unearthed remains without any security measures. The whole project is not working now,” said Nada. But despite the gloomy picture, some people are finding creative ways to engage tourists in the post-Mubarak era. Sabry, whom I met during my short visit to Luxor Temple, regularly reads English papers to follow how foreigners perceive what's going on in Egypt. “I need to understand what foreign media sources say about the revolution. In fact, I find it highly useful to read about the (Egyptian) revolution in English,” said Sabry. This way, Sabry feels that he is able to better engage with foreigners and fill them in on what foreign media outlets fail to tell them in regards to Egypt's revolution. “For the first time, I'll tell tourists about Egypt's current glory. I'll speak with them about the Egyptian people's will to demand their rights. In the past, we built this great civilization and now we're continuing our contribution.”
