A study about touristic bazaars and shops has been delayed, according to Mohamed al-Qattan, chairman of the Chamber of Touristic Commerce. Qattan said Minister of Tourism Munir Fakhry Abdel Nour has delayed ratification of the first phase of the study, which will be conducted by the government-affiliated Center for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). The three-stage study has finished its first phase, which focused on shops in Cairo. Continuation of the study depends on the Ministry of Tourism's material support, said Qattan. The cost so far has been 400,000 EGP (U.S. $68,000). Qattan said the study would help identify the number of licensed shops and bazaars and uncover unlicensed shops. The first phase of the study was limited to bazaars and shops in Greater Cairo and was supervised by Judge Abu Bakr al-Sultan. Fifty researches participated the study. The study discovered 1,504 unlicensed bazaars or shops in greater Cairo, representing abut 77.1 percent of all bazaars. Only 278 bazaars – 14.7 percent – were licensed by municipal councils, and another 159 by the Ministry of Tourism. The study also focused on the capital invested in bazaars and the number of workers in each bazaar.
