Danielle B. ENGL 213
Essay # 3
Egypt is one of the most beautiful and historically important countries in North Africa, millions of people from all over the world visit Egypt for its ancient monuments and famous artefacts. Tourism is an important feature of Egypt’s gross national product, the health of its economy is mostly determined by the number of tourists who travel there each year. However, recently there has been many political issues concerning the President Hosni Mubarak, hundreds of thousands of Egyptians have been protesting and demanding that the president resign. The unrest started on January 25, when thousands of people united to protest poverty, rampant unemployment, government corruption and the autocratic regime of President Hosni Mubarak. These riots have greatly affected the tourism industry, forcing many visitors to leave the country before the end of their vacations. Tourism is one of the most important industries in Egypt, unfortunately there are three different factors that will hurt Egypt’s recovery effort; the effect it has on citizens’ jobs and businesses , the enormous drop in the Egyptian economy will make it harder for the citizens’ to survive and the non-replaceable ancient antiquities that got damaged during the turmoil.
The unrest in Egypt has already hurt the country’s once-thriving tourism industry causing many airlines, such as Delta and Lufthansa, to cancel their flights to Cairo. Approximately eighty per cent of travelers from the United States are attempting to cancel their trips. According to the Egyptian Tourist Authority in New York, “tourism in Egypt makes about eleven percent of the gross domestic product” (Hunter, 2011), and with all these cancellations, numerous Egyptians working within the tourism industry will not be able to work for an undetermined amount of time. It becomes a vicious circle because without the tourists’ there is no need for souvenir shops, bazaars, hotels and tour guides, and hundreds of Egyptians will become unemployed. Usually, January and February are the two major months for tourists, but with all these political problems, countless tour groups have been cancelled. Brandon King, the president of a small California based company called Nile Valley Tours explains that guides with an Egyptology degree generally make twenty to twenty-five dollars per day, plus tips. “They basically live off tips, but there are no tourists so there is no work and if there’s no work, there are no tips” (Hunter, 2011). Normally, tourism companies could host three thousand to five thousand tourists a month in this period of the year. Furthermore, Egypt’s economy relies greatly on the tourism industry for the reason that it provides about one in eight jobs in the country.
Footage of tanks and burning buildings in the streets of Egypt shows that it is not a safe place to visit at this moment, “it seems tourist season is closed for many of millions who visit Egypt each year as tour companies, travelers and cruise lines cancel and divert their upcoming visits to avoid political unrest across the country. It might be a year or more before the industry recovers” expert reveal (Hunter,2011). In the last few weeks, the protest has cost the tourism industry one billion dollars of losses as one million tourists left the country. According to the Egyptian Tourist Authority, tourism produced over eleven billion dollars in revenue in 2010, an estimated fifteen million tourists visited Egypt.
With the “Mass anti-government” protests still going on and all the chaos on the streets, several looters have broken into one of Cairo’s most beautiful museums, damaging many precious antiquities. They entered the museum while the authorities were busy trying to clear the streets of Cairo. Maggie Michael states that that the looters ripped off the heads of two mummies and damaged about ten small artifacts before being caught by army soldiers. The museum contains the gold mask of King Tutankhamen, which draws millions of tourists each year, “it also houses thousands of artifacts spanning the full sweep of Egypt’s rich Pharaonic history” (Michael. 2011). Thomas Campbell, the director of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art explains that “it is the great repository of Egyptian art; it is the treasure chest, the finest sculptures and treasures from literally four thousand years of history. If it is damaged through looting or fire, it would be a loss to all humankind”. Army troops are established near the pyramids, trying to protect them from damage and looting.
During the protest for a free Egypt, many problems have occurred. The riots have greatly affected the tourism industry; thousands of Egyptians have lost their jobs due to the lack of tourists, looters have vandalized and damaged parts of Egypt’s heritage, the economy has been greatly affected by the loss of billions of dollars. “The speed of the industry’s recovery will depend in part on whether there’s an effort to invite visitors back. The Egyptian Tourist Authority said it would launch an extensive marketing effort when the crises is over to recapture the country’s share in the travel market” (Hunter,2011). It is unfortunate that the people of Egypt had to risk the economy of their country to fight for democracy, but in the end, this will bring a better future for Egyptians.
REFERENCE
Hunter, M. (2011, February 11). Long Road Ahead for Egypt Tourism. CNN. Retrieved from
Michael, M. (2011, January 30). Looters Rip Heads off Two Mummies at Egyptian Museum. The daily news Egypt. Retrieved from http://www.thedailynewsegypt.com
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