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Egypt's state newspaper indicates 'the coup is failing'

February 5, 2014 at 10:00 am

A report by Al-Ahram newspaper revealed that the tourism sector in Egypt, a major source of foreign currency for the Egyptian economy, is suffering a severe crisis.


According to the newspaper the figures reveal that, “the occupancy rate in Egypt’s hotels in Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh ranges nowadays between ten to 14 per cent, reaching 20 per cent at best. Both touristic destinations are excluded from the military curfew. However, the occupancy rate in Luxor and Aswan has declined to between three and five per cent, which means that their revenues do not even cover the hotels’ running costs or employees’ salaries.”

Al-Ahram added that, “Hurghada and Marsa Alam have nearly 100 hotel owners who have decided to shut down their hotels due to weak occupancy rates and low revenues that failed to cover operating costs and salaries. The situation is more disturbing in the case of the floating hotels between Luxor and Aswan, where 280 floating hotels have stopped working altogether. Almost 50 hotels are set for sale in Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh while their owners face problems in repaying their bank loans.”

Furthermore, according to the newspaper “Many hotels in Egypt have unfortunately laid off a large number of skilled labour due to their inability to pay salaries, while others decided to pay half a month’s salary or a quarter of a month’s salary for some months.”