Tourism has long been a mainstay of the country's economy, which is the second largest in the Arab world after Saudi Arabia.
But in the light of recent attacks on Western tourists, and with large areas of neighbouring Libya controlled by so-called Islamic State (IS), foreign holidaymakers are reluctant to set foot there.
Before the fall of President Hosni Mubarak in 2011 as part of the short-lived Arab Spring, tourism employed more than one in 10 of the workforce and generated the equivalent of $12.5bn (£8.5bn) in revenue.
At that time, Egypt could boast nearly 15 million tourists a year, lured by such attractions as the pyramids in Cairo and the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Although there is no warning against the resort itself, the UK Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel by air to and from Sharm el-Sheikh, after the downing of a Russian jet that took off from the resort in October last year.
Another Red Sea resort, Hurghada, was the scene of an attack in January by suspected IS militants, who stabbed three Western tourists, although their injuries did not prove to be life-threatening.
Terrorists continue to plan and conduct attacks in Egypt. More attacks are likely."
It is still unclear whether the EgyptAir plane fell victim to terrorism or whether an accident was to blame.
But either way, the Egyptian economy will suffer as a result, according to Dr Yeganeh Morakabati, an expert in international relations, risk and tourism at Bournemouth University.
With terrorism, Egypt tourism still suffers.
Mike Bugsgang, chief executive of the UK-based Association of Group Travel Organisers, also fears the possible consequences for Egyptian tourism.
It's not yet proven that EgyptAir was brought down by terrorism, but if it is, it's going to be a big problem for the Egyptian tourism business, which is ongoing, in addition to events that have taken place in the recent past."
Small wonder, then, that the number of tourists in Egypt is declining. By 2013, it had fallen by one-third to under 10 million a year, and has undoubtedly slumped further since then.
And last year's revenue from tourism was just under half the 2010 figure, at $6.1bn (£4.2bn).
Tour operators may not explain the cause of the nosedive in tourists to egypt but they simply promote alternative destinations believed to be safer.
Holidaymakers have been turning to safer countries such as Spain,Bulgaria and Iceland which have experienced a rise in summer bookings this year.
Its bad news for Egyptians who rely on foreign visitors for their livelihood: hotel workers, tourist guides, taxi drivers and stallholders in the local souks and bazaars.
New security upgrades are in the pipeline, including a £20m programme to add more CCTV cameras and other measures, such as sniffer dogs.
Security at airports has been beefed up too.
Routine security checks are carried out on people entering Sharm el-Sheikh and the police regularly check vehicles in the towns of Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada.
"We have put a lot of new equipment in, we will continue to put a lot of equipment in. We're training and retraining the people," says Egypt's new tourism minister, Yehia Rashed.
But despite his claim that "Egypt is 100% secure", would-be visitors will take some convincing.
Likely, Egypt tourism will continue suffering for as long as terrorists are able to access airports, planes and Hotels.
Terrorists or their accomplices are employes at airports and Hotels, they are everywhere. Weeding them out may not be easy yet.
We've seen examples of this over the years and there's no getting away from the fact that Egypt is very popular with British holidaymakers.
The British travel industry will continue to support Egypt boosting tourism, but in line with Foreign Office advice.
At least not now, will tourism in Egypt improve.
Simply watch.
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