Terrorism in 2011-2015 cost Egypt $100B in tourism and related sectors: Seminar

CAIRO – 12 April 2022: Terrorism has inflicted losses of $65 billion on the tourism sector in 2011-2015, while $25 billion more never reached other sectors related to tourism in those four years, according to economic expert Abdel Fattah al-Gebaly.

Gebaly, who is also the president of the Media Production City board, spoke at a Monday seminar inaugurated by Minister of Social Solidarity Neveen al-Kabbag on the economic and social cost of terrorism in Egypt. The seminar is a prelude to an unprecedented research project on the subject.

The private sector bore the cost of renovating tourist facilities at about $3 billion with the support of the state in the form of financial incentives to ensure the continuity of the sector, Gebaly said.

He added that sectors such as museums, archeological places, means of transport, lost $25 billion as a result of the lack of tourists, while the cost of operating these facilities did not decrease.

The tourism sector only began recovering in 2018/2019, Gebaly continued.