Some 11,500 Saudi tourists have visited Egypt during the first half of 2001, reflecting a 2.29 percent rise compared with the corresponding period of the previous year, according a report released by the Egyptian ministry of economy and foreign commerce, reported Al-Sharq Al-Awsat.
Saudi Arabia now ranks second in terms of incoming tourists to Egypt, after Libya. Approximately 11,900 tourists from have crossed the border from neighboring Libya, between January and June 2001. The Palestinian Authority (PA) ranks third, with over 9,000 visitors arriving in Egypt during the same period.
However, the same reports also revealed that the overall number of the tourists arriving to Egypt from the Arab world dropped by 5.4 percent to 1,323,000 during the first half of the year 2001, compared with the corresponding period the year before. The drop is attributed to the tensed regional situation, since the outbreak of the Palestinian intifada in October 2000. — (MENA Report)
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
