According to the World Tourism Organisation, Egypt is a major tourist country that should attract millions of tourists every year. International tourism receipts grew to $1.03 trillion in export earnings in 2011. Nevertheless, Egypt is way back in the ranking of countries considered to be the top ten tourism earners in 2011, which grew by four per cent in 2012 with an expected growth of three to four per cent in 2013. Among the top 10 countries, the United States is ranked first with $116.3 billion followed by Spain with $59.9 billion and ending with Macau with $27.8 billion and Hong Kong with $27.2 billion. Compared to 62.3 million tourists who went to the US, only 9.49 million came to Egypt. How can Egypt fit in with these big earners? Sharm El-Sheikh has long gained the nickname “a tourist factory" among tourists. That is because thousands and thousands of tourists would land there for one week and go out through a production line with the sun tan and extras. However, after two years of battered tourism in Egypt, the town, like any other tourist attraction, is so hungry for visitors and suffers the sharpest pain. Sharm El-Sheikh is called an oasis of peace; nonetheless it has not recently had its share of business like Hurghada on the Red Sea. Hurghada had its fair share of tourists (same number of tourists) after the January 25, 2011 Revolution. The political turmoil that accompanied the revolutions has hardly affected the tourist flux to the Red Sea Resort. It is a common fact the Egyptian tourism industry has been unsteady for years before the January Revolution. By 2010, the total number of tourists in Egypt was 14 million. But even though there were many setbacks that affected the tourism business, many tourists continue to come back by the millions every year. Egypt is still the closest and cheapest tourist destination for many tourists such as the Russians, the Germans, the Italians, the British and even Scandinavians. Therefore, the estimates for the total number of tourists for 2013 will amount to 11.5 million. To go back to the question raised at the top of this article, let us put the following tips. In fact every Egyptian city and town that has tourist attractions should become a tourism factory. Officials should make every effort to attract tourists to their town or city. The name of the game is to admit that there is something called planning and hire those with the know-how. No one would deny that regaining security in our neighbourhoods is a major factor there. But everyone must reject the renegade calls that tourism and work in tourist activities is haram or to get it right, a “taboo word." This is absolutely ridiculous and obnoxious. The social, educational, economic and cultural sectors of the society should join hands to reject this anomaly. All should work to get Egypt out of the current tourist recession. We should accept the fact that: “The traveller sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see." Thus, let us turn our country into a tourism factory.
