CAIRO: Egypt's Minister of Tourism Munir Fakhry Abdel Nour slammed Egyptian media for causing recent tourism losses. The minister argued that negative media coverage has misrepresented the security situation in Egypt. He blamed the media for scaring off tourists. “Stories about road closures only give a negative impression of Egypt and tend to show a state of chaos,” he explained on Saturday. The tourism industry has fallen roughly 35 percent from last year, according to the country's Central Authority for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). Tourism in Egypt is down amidst an environment of political uncertainty in the aftermath of the January 25 Revolution that deposed former President Hosni Mubarak earlier this year. Egypt is now trying to diversify its tourism market and encourage tourists to return to the country. Many countries have removed Egypt from their travel-warning lists, but tourists are still weary to visit the country. BM