Tourism pays cost of freedom in Egypt

GIZA, Egypt — Saad Ahmed has a lot of time on his hands these days.

Usually at this time of year, tourists swarm the Egyptian merchant's souvenir shop and many others like it at the foot of Egypt's mightiest pyramid, snapping up postcards, ornamental papyrus and enough statuettes of King Tut to create a kitschy necropolis back home.

But Egypt's revolution has scared away millions of foreign tourists, the lifeblood of the nation's economy, and now this ancient kingdom of tombs resembles a ghost town.

"I'm losing a lot of money," said Ahmed, 63, a retiree who sold property near his home in the province of Qena five years ago to buy one of the souvenir shops near the Great Pyramid of Cheops on Cairo's outskirts.

A lot of people have been losing money after the uprising that forced President Hosni Mubarak from office more than two months ago.

Although the revolution has lifted the hopes of many Egyptians eager for a more prosperous, democratic future, the turmoil has walloped the nation's economy, in no small part because of the drop in tourism.

Merchants who cater to tourists say the post-revolutionary drop in business has been much more severe than the slowdown after gunmen killed a group of tourists in Luxor in 1997.

Between Jan. 25 and Feb. 1, at least 1 million tourists cut their visits short or chose not to come at all, Egypt's new minister of tourism, Mounir Fakry Abdel Noor, said in an interview.

In February, tourism was off 80 percent compared with last year, and it fell 60 percent in March, Noor said. That is a crippling blow for a sector that represents one of every seven Egyptian jobs and makes up 11 percent of Egypt's economy.

"Tourism is the number one foreign-currency earner in Egypt," Noor said. "It's obviously very important."

The revolution has also slowed other sectors. Jobs have been lost, foreign investment has dried up and inflation has increased, with food prices skyrocketing.

The United States has relaxed its warning to travelers somewhat, but still cautions that the situation in Egypt remains unpredictable (see the Egypt travel warning at www.travel.state.gov).

Shops hurting

Although calm has partially returned, some Egyptians remain focused on the poor economy, particularly in the cluster of shops near the Giza pyramids that local Egyptians call "tourist town."

On a recent day, the arrival of almost every new visitor drew a pesky mob of wheeler-dealers, especially because there were so few customers on the dirt streets near establishments such as the King Tut Bazaar, the Cleopatra Papyrus Gallery and the Sphinx Guest House.

But the tourists who have made the trip to Egypt wonder why anyone would stay away.

"There's nothing to be scared of," said Kathleen Batten, a professor from England visiting the pyramids with her husband, Derek.

She said tourists have delighted in an unintended benefit since the revolution: no crowds. Of course, that has also meant there are more insistent peddlers per tourist.

"We've been offered 10,000 camels," Derek Batten said.

Kristin Jackson of The Seattle Times contributed to this report.