~ Tourism In Egypt
~ Tourism And Civil Unrest
~ Egyptian History
Tourism has been vital to the Egyptian economy for decades. Despite setbacks, the 20 years up to 2011 seem like a golden era in the light of subsequent events. Since the revolution of 2011 and the political and social upheavals that followed, tourism numbers and income have nose-dived.
TOURISM: BLESSING OR CURSE? Egypt was one of the earliest Thomas Cook destinations in the mid 19th Century. Tourists were lured by the ancient pyramids ¨C and they're still coming. But these attractions that made Egypt so popular have also made it vulnerable, as terrorists know well.
ENVIRONMENT The downturn may be a blessing in disguise -- for the environment. Egypt's waste disposal system is at breaking point: lower tourist numbers will ease the strain. Is there a future in a more sustainable brand of tourism?
TOURISM: WHO BENEFITS, WHO SUFFERS? The dramatic slump in tourism has affected the tourism companies, but as ever it's the small traders who have suffered most ¨C just as, in the good times, the large business, often foreign-owned, reap the profits. We go behind the scenes of the Nile cruises business, where workers work long hours for low pay ¨C those who can even get a job. Some critics argue that tourism is a new form of colonialism, trading on "commoditised" myths of ancient Egypt.
Features an interview with Hisham Zaazou, Egyptian minister of tourism.
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