Egypt’s resorts safe for tourists

Cairo, Feb 8 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Egypt’s top resort areas in the south of the Sinai Peninsula, including Sharm el-Sheikh, are absolutely safe for foreign tourists, the interior ministry said Tuesday.

Egypt, whose economy largely depends on tourism, has reported a decrease in the flow of tourists during the ongoing anti-government protests in major cities. Tourism creates about 11 percent of the country’s jobs.

“Sharm el-Sheikh is absolutely safe,” the EGYnews portal quoted a top interior ministry official as saying.

Tourism officials from various European states inspected the resort areas and discovered they were not affected by the unrest.

“Tourists from those states will start arriving in Egypt in large numbers soon,” the official said.

Egypt has seen huge protests since Jan 25, with protesters demanding that President Hosni Mubarak step down.

–IANS/RIA Novosti