CAIRO: Russia lifted Thursday its two-month travel ban on Egypt, which has kept around 3 million tourists from visiting the country since the start of the January 25 Revolution. According to a Cabinet statement, more than 2.8 million Russian tourists visited Egypt last year, which equals almost 20 percent of the total number of foreign travel. Russia ranks first among all exporting travel markets, the statement read. “The Egyptian government has paid several calls to the Russian authorities in order to review their ban on Russians traveling to Egypt, and the request has been met today,” the statement read. “Egypt is renowned as one of the most popular tourist destinations for Russians, and the Ministry of Tourism expects an immediate flock of Russian tourists to major Egyptian cities, and is confident that this short-term effect after the uprising will not significantly affect the previous levels of the Russian travel to Egypt,” it added. Tourism is one of the top three revenue earners for the economy, employing around 2 million Egyptians and bringing $13 billion into the economy from 14.2 million tourists last year. The number of tourists who left Egypt during the last week of January amounted to 210,000, according to CAPMAS, which equaled a $178 million fall in tourism revenues. February cancellations cost $825 million. Beltone Financial expects tourism receipts during the current fiscal year to fall to around $9.5 billion.
