【the arrival of jessica bunny duck】Egypt tries to protect tourism after coronavirus outbreak on cruise ship
* Coronavirus detected on River Nile cruise ship
* Ministers visit Luxor,the arrival of jessica bunny duck try to ease concerns over tourism
* Tourism an important driver of economic growth
By Mahmoud Mourad and Nadeen Ebrahim
CAIRO, March 8 (Reuters) - Egypt is rushing to protect its important tourism sector and reassure travellers it is safe to visit after an outbreak of the coronavirus on a cruise ship on the River Nile.
Officials said on Saturday the coronavirus had been detected in 45 people, including foreign tourists, after the vessel reached the southern city of Luxor. Until then, Egypt had reported only three confirmed cases of the virus.
The ministers of tourism, health and civil aviation toured a temple on Sunday in central Luxor, across the Nile from the Valley of the Kings where pharaohs were buried in tombs carved into rock.
"We are here to respond to rumours saying that there are no tourists and people are afraid of coming. Thank God, people are here," Khaled al-Anani, the tourism and antiquities minister, told state television before the camera panned across to show tourists queuing to enter the site.
"No to exaggerated reactions. Our eyes are on everything," said Health Minister Hala Zayed.
The tourism industry is an important driver of economic growth and has rebounded after a decline following the 2011 uprising that toppled long-serving leader Hosni Mubarak.
Revenue was a record high of $12.57 billion in the financial year that ended last July, according to central bank figures.
At another top tourism site, the Giza Pyramids outside Cairo, guides and souvenir sellers said business had slowed over the past month because of fears over the coronavirus.
Ali Hamouda Hassan, who gives tours of the pyramids on horseback, said he now had "one customer every two days."
The cruise boat struck by the virus has been towed outside Luxor and placed under quarantine, state media reported. Those who tested positive were flown by military plane for quarantine in northern Egypt.
Officials say the newly announced cases and others discovered in people who passed through Egypt originate from a Taiwanese-U.S. national who returned to Taiwan in February after travelling on the cruise ship.
Karim ElMinabaway, president of Emeco Travel Egypt, said there had been few cancellations from travellers abroad through to the end of June but tourism could be badly hit.
"We are receiving 10% of what we had been expecting for the first quarter of next year," he said.
The spread of the coronavirus outside Egypt could have other knock-on effects on the economy, including on Egyptians working abroad, an important source of foreign currency remittances.
Hundreds of people were queuing on Sunday at Cairo's main public laboratory centre for blood tests required by Saudi Arabia for workers travelling from Egypt to show they do not have the coronavirus. (Additional reporting by Omar Fahmy and Patrick Werr, Editing by Aidan Lewis and Timothy Heritage)
View comments
下一篇:HealthEquity (HQY) Lags Q1 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
相关文章:
- CohBar To Target COVID-19 Associated Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) with its Apelin Receptor Agonist Peptides
- Brexit poses risk, but German economy poised for further growth -minister
- Have Insiders Been Buying Citizens First Corporation (NASDAQ:CZFC) Shares?
- BRIEF-Daido Group Says Expected To Record A Loss For Year Ended 31 December 2018
- Transformative Mega Trends Reshaping the Indian ICT Landscape
- Ten Years Later, a Reflection on Bitcoin’s Genesis and Satoshi’s Timing
- Insiders who bought stock earlier this year lose -US$118k as Corvus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRVS) drops to US$112m
- Indian Oil says Iran may still invest in Chennai Petroleum expansion
- Stocks tumble as coronavirus cases rise rapidly outside China
- AWR or SJW: Which Utility Stock is a Better Buy for 2019?
相关推荐:
- 5 Value Stocks In The Energy Sector
- At US$69.43, Is It Time To Put YY Inc. (NASDAQ:YY) On Your Watch List?
- BRIEF-Bumi Armada Posts Q4 Net Loss 1.26 Bln RGT
- Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) Has Announced A Dividend Of US$0.37
- Cheniere seeks U.S. permission to put Oklahoma Midship natgas pipe in service
- July Auto Sales: Ford
- How Did Axel Springer SE’s (FRA:SPR) 16% ROE Fare Against The Industry?
- Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) Stock Is Too Cheap to Be Ignored
- Ferrari (RACE) Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates
- BRIEF-Hytera Communications' Consortium Wins Communication Equipment Contract In Philippines
- India gold discounts at widest in five months as prices surge
- Were Hedge Funds Right About Dumping Retail Value Inc. (RVI)?
- JPMorgan (JPM) Signs Deal to Acquire Fintech Start-up 55ip
- Harpoon Therapeutics Reports Third Quarter 2020 Financial Results and Provides Corporate Update
- One Metric To Rule Them All: Ground Rents Income Fund PLC (LON:GRIO)
- Survey Results: Investors Have No Idea Where The Market Is Headed Next
- Nightfood Announces Rouses Markets as Newest Supermarket Distribution Partner
- Top Ranked Growth Stocks to Buy for June 4th
- Crown Castle (CCI) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
- Rental fleet collapse drags down U.S. vehicle sales