The number of international tourists visiting Egypt decreased by 35.7 percent in April compared to the same month in 2010, according to a government report released Wednesday. The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics report said 800,000 tourists came in April 2011, down from 1.2 million in April 2010. Eastern Europeans accounted for the steepest tourism decline (58 percent), followed by Western Europeans (26 percent). The number of Arab tourists decreased by 4.5 percent during April, with 147,000 tourists compared to 154,000 in April 2010. The Egyptian government has previously said the post-revolution security situation has deterred tourists from visiting. On 7 April, Egyptian Tourism Minister Mounir Fakhri Abdel Nour said tourism is the largest source of foreign currency in Egypt and that one of every seven Egyptians is directly or indirectly affected by the tourism sector. Translated from the Arabic Edition
