CAIRO: Two weeks of mass protests nationwide had more or less brought Egypt's economy to a standstill, but for the past two days many have been trying to push the economy back into normalcy. Banks opened Sunday operating at shortened business hours and the stock market, closed since Jan. 27, is due to open at the start of next week on Feb. 13. Shops and restaurants that closed down for fear of looting are reopening their doors gradually around the country. Tourism, one of the main revenue earners for the economy and employing around 10 percent of the workforce, has been the hardest hit and will likely be the slowest to rebound. The population is fearful to say the least about the economy and what the future holds in Egypt, but some have hope things will bounce back slowly. For one thing, there was no run on the banks as anticipated and the pound did fall, but not as drastically as expected. Amidst all this, the nation's well-informed youth are thinking of initiatives that will ease the panic in the market and help get things back on track. On Sunday, a message circulated via SMS and BBM urged: “[Please] don't withdraw more money than you need or buy [dollars] if you don't need them. Let's help our economy stay strong. …Egypt is now ours again. Purchase Egyptian products.” A Facebook event titled “Time to take actions, invest EGP 100 in the stock market and save our economy,” is asking for everyone that can to “go purchase any of our reputable stocks even with only LE 100 or more.” The event, created by Sarah Lamei and Mohamed Yousry and now has around 3,500 “attendees,” has listed reasons, such as balancing the stock market and outweighing the withdrawal of foreign investors. Most of the sell-off in the market from Jan.25-27, however, was by Egyptian investors. “People are worried and transferring money out of the country, but I think the best way to get the economy moving forward again is keeping your money here and only withdraw what is needed and not panic,” says Sherry, an young Egyptian with high hopes for her country. “We need to re-build our tourism because one in every eight people are employed in the tourism sector so by intriguing people again, we will help jumpstart the economy.” Ramy Khattab, a 27-year-old in the telecom business, also agrees that tourism is one sector that is in need of rebuilding. “We took a huge hit in tourism, but now we need to get the tourists back and encourage them to visit and that it's safe.” While some are afraid of foreign investors leaving the country, Khattab says he feels that “Egypt is a promising country for investors so I think once things calm down, investors will come again.” He also believes that we could see a new wave of Egyptian investors now that people have a newfound sense of pride for their country. “I think it's a really good idea to invest in the stock market right now, even if it's as little as LE 100. It would help bring our economy back up from what we've lost,” says Sherry. While some believe investing will help the stock market, others think the exact opposite. “I applaud your good intentions, but please think further. By buying shares you are neither supporting the economy nor the companies listed on the EGX, you are supporting the sellers,” states one comment on the group's wall by Amr El Kadi. With approximately 10 million Egyptians receiving day to day pay and businesses closed, some are losing their livelihood. “At the end of the day, all these people are employees and employers; we need to start opening businesses back up, pay employees and get a sense of normalcy again,” said Sherry. Both Khattab and Sherry believe that the government has a responsibility as well to listen to the people and help rebuild the country and its economy. Numerous others have called on Egyptians to spend, as domestic demand and consumptions are some of the key drivers of the economy. More importantly is spending on local products, supporting neighborhood businesses and, above all, no panicking. Meanwhile in Tahrir, the epicenter of the ongoing protests, a micro-economy has sprouted to cater to the needs of the protesters. Tourism scare The tourism sector is a different story and has so far been the most effected by the protests, with around a million tourists in Egypt evacuated since the unrest began. Ahmed El-Emam, CEO of TourEgypt.net, said the company is open for business but with minimum employees. After laying off around 10 members of the staff, both Egyptian and foreigners, the company now only has 35 employees. “Certain jobs were canceled…all the sales people have been laid off,” El-Emam said. Last week the company lost an estimated $43,000 due to cancellations, and projects losses to increase to LE 800,000. The staff has taken a 30-40 percent pay cut, and with no revenue flowing in, the management is using profits from the previous period to “whether the storm.” “If things stay the same, with little trust in the current system, it will be hard to sell Egypt,” he said. On the other hand, if President Hosni Mubarak steps down, as hundreds of thousands of protesters nationwide have demanded for the past two weeks, tourism could pick up. While asserting that he's not commenting on what he hopes will happen, purely from a selling tourism point of view, he said: “If Mubarak leaves, it'll be easier to sell the destination to tourists, they will be excited to come and be a part of the ‘new Egypt.' If not, then the repercussions of the current unrest will depend on how long they last.” “Brand is what we show to [tourists], reputation is what people see. To rebuild [Egypt's] reputation, we need a creative tourism ministry not just to drop prices of hotels and packages, but to restore a sense of security,” El-Imam said. Egypt's new cabinet is still without a tourism minister. For the time being, the company is focusing on developing its internal system, improving tour packages and the website, “using the downtime to ensure quality,” he said.
