Egypt’s Tourism Minister said that figures show the country was not as affected by the global economic crisis as much as was feared, and 2010 also looks promising. Zoheir Garranah said that the number of incoming tourists is expected to rise significantly next year because of steps Egypt took to weather the financial storm, and the initial recovery from the global economic downturn.
Garranah told the Oxford Business Group (OBG) that Egypt was prepared to deal with the impact of the global economic slowdown because of its past experience preparing crisis management plans. He said “We took a proactive approach to combating the downturn. As a result of precautions we have taken, we have begun to witness positive signs that reinforce these decisions.” Minister Garranah said the tourism industry is expected to grow between 7 and 10 percent in 2010 and tourism numbers may reach 14 million in 2011.
