EGYPT faces ruin following last week’s air disaster after Tunisia revealed 70 major hotels have shut since it was targeted by Islamic State five months ago.
Intelligence experts suspect the same terror network planted a bomb feared to have downed last week’s Metrojet aircraft from Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg killing all 224 passengers.
Brit and Russian holidaymakers are still being evacuated from the resort which has been placed in lockdown while investigators probe the cause.
But if terrorism was to blame, Tunisian officials warned Egypt would face the same demise as its tourist industry following June’s Sousse beach gun massacre which left 38 people dead including 30 Brits.
In Sousse 26 hotels have shut their doors after the UK and other nations banned all but essential travel to the north African country.
Tunisia relied heavily on British tourists with around 500,000 travelling to beach resorts each year.
And with 900,000 Brits making Sharm el-Skeikh their holiday destination, the Egyptian government is sweating on a similar type of tourism blow.
Tunisian officials said the nation’s tourist industry was on its knees.
"The situation is very sluggish," said Radhouane Ben Salah, the head of the Tunisian Federation of Hotels.
With reservations at "no more than 20%", 70 hotels have had to close since September because the lack of clients.
More are expected to follow, he added.
Ben Salah said he expected unemployment – which already stands at 30% - to climb as hotel staff would be forced out of work.
One in six Tunisians already lives below the poverty line.
The country's key tourism sector contributes to 10% of gross domestic product, and employs 400,000 people
Ben Salah said hotel owners and the government had agreed to look after employees who would be forced out of work.
He said the government would provide them with a 200-dinar monthly subsidy (£67) and social security coverage for a renewable six-month period.
But it has been badly shaken by the beach massacre and shootings at the National Bardo Museum in March which left 30 tourists dead.
No comments:
Post a Comment