page_title: Tourism in Egypt
section_title: Impact of revolutions on tourism
hierarchical_section_title: Tourism in Egypt / History / Impact of revolutions on tourism
caption_attribution_description: العربية: .صورة لأحد المتظاهرين حاملاً العلم المصري خلال مظاهرات سنة 2011 في مصرEnglish: A picture of an Egyptian protester during the 2011 Egyptian revolution holding the Egyptian flag.
context_page_description: Tourism is one of the leading sources of income, crucial to Egypt's economy. At its peak in 2010 the sector employed about 12% of workforce of Egypt serving approximately 14.7 million visitors Egypt, and providing revenues of nearly $12.5 billion. as well as contributing more than 11% of GDP and 14.4% of foreign currency revenues.
context_section_description: During the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, the number of visitors plummeted by over 37% that year falling from 14 million in 2010 to 9 million by the end of 2011. This has impacted a diverse range of businesses directly or indirectly dependent on tourism, from travel accommodation and tourist attractions to car rental and air transportation, as well as health and wellness industries. Tour operators offering heavy discounts to encourage tourists back have been somewhat successful at the Red Sea resorts where prices remain lower compared to 2011.
  In the first half of 2014 the number of tourists further declined by 25% as compared with the same period of 2013, while revenues shrank by 25% as well.
  In 2013, Egypt ranked 85th as the world's best country in terms of tourism and travelling, falling ten places from its ranking of 75 in 2011. However, it regained some ground in the 2017 rankings being rated 75th overall.
  Israelis can cross into Egypt for 14 days without a visa at certain areas near Taba and they come to enjoy areas in the Red Sea Riviera.  In 2017, the first group of Israelis visited the more popular tourist attractions- with the aid of strong security. It had been 18 months since a group of Israeli tourists had visited Egypt.
  In 2017, Bloomberg said Egypt has "shed its years of social and political unrest" and makes the top 20 list of 2017 travel destinations. 
  The latest United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has revealed that Egypt is one of the world's fast-growing tourist destination for 2017, it raised to 8 million compared to last year which was about 5.26 million.
caption: Protester atop the Qasr al-Nil Bridge waves the Egyptian flag during the protests of January 2011.
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