Egyptians are Egypt's tourists
An Egyptian couple sit in a Cairo cafe formerly filled with tourists. (March 26, 2011) Credit: AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev
Tourists are staying away from Egypt, two months after the start of a popular revolution that ousted longtime President Hosni Mubarak, dealing another blow to a nation already staggered by inefficiency, corruption and poverty.
Some new patterns are emerging while foreign tourists reconsider their options.
The few tourists now in the country make pilgrimages to Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo, where hundreds of thousands gathered in anti-government protests. Sidewalk merchants line the circumference of the square, hawking T-shirts, flags, bookmarks, tissue boxes, hats, badges, stickers and wall hangings dedicated to the revolution.
Fueled by the same renewed national pride, Egyptians are visiting tourist sites once packed with sunburned European visitors. Young Egyptians use the moment to stage a colorful plea for tourists to come back. Dressed up as Pharaoh kings, they pose by the Nile and the pyramids.
"The tourist is our guest, be generous with them," one of their signs reads. Another man holds up a sign declaring, "Egypt is a country of safety and security." But there are precious few foreigners around to read them.
