CAIRO: The number of tourists visiting Egypt increased by 17.5 percent in 2010 said a report by the governmental Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAMPAS). CAMPAS statistics for 2010 said 14.73 million tourists visited Egypt in 2010, compared to 12.53 million in 2009, reported state news agency MENA. The majority of tourists came from Western Europe, comprising 44 percent of the total, while Eastern Europe represented 31.3 percent, 12 percent came from other Middle Eastern countries, 3.3 percent from Africa, and 3.1 percent from North America. The report said most Arab tourists came from Libya, followed by Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Palestine and Jordan, respectively, while England accounted for the highest number of tourists from Europe followed by Germany, Italy and France. Tourism in Egypt has suffered a great decline since the outbreak of the eighteen-day uprising that led to the ouster of former president Hosni Mubarak in mid-February. There were also days of lawlessness and vandalism after the withdrawal of police from the streets following clashes with protesters. Tourism is a vital source of income for Egypt, along with Suez Canal Revenues, and remittances sent by Egyptians abroad. BM
