The security situation in Egypt costs it thousands of tourists every month, said various former European officials and Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation and Planning at a conference Monday. “Every part of Egyptian economy faces obstacles. Egypt lost 100,000 tourists monthly after the January 25 Revolution and 70 percent of contracts with tourist agencies. That affected the Egyptian economy greatly,” Fayza Aboul Naga said. Aboul Naga also said that approximately 1.5 million Egyptian workers in Libya returned to Egypt during the Libyan Revolution. Thousands of workers also returned from Tunisia, Syria, and Jordan. Jonathan Charles, Director of Communications at Development Bank, said the bank is ready to invest a million dollars in Egypt into medium and small projects to benefit the Egyptian economy. Charles said they presented aid to countries that experienced similar revolutions. Jean Krzysztof, a former Polish prime minister, said 60,000 Polish tourists visited Egypt last year. Poland ranks fourth amongst countries sending tourists to Egypt. “Insecurity after the January 25 Revolution affected tourism badly,” said Krzysztof. Jean Fisher, former Prime Minister of the Czech republic and deputy director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, said the transitional phase is complicated and unstable. Fisher also said Egyptian government must do its best to stop loses. Ahmed Galal, executive director of the Economic Research Forum also attended the conference.
