CAIRO: The tourism industry in Egypt is keeping a close eye on business following two recent attacks that appeared directed at Westerners. Some operators have reported cancellations, while others see no change. Tourism is Egypt’s premier foreign currency earner. “The effects were very limited. It lasted two days, and now it’s over,” ministry spokesperson Hala Khatib told IPS. Hoteliers in Cairo confirmed that after a spate of cancellations in the immediate aftermath of the attacks on April 30, business had quickly recuperated.

The first attack was carried out by an alleged suicide bomber which killed the bomber instantly and injured an Israeli couple, a Swede, an Italian and three Egyptians. The second attack came less than two hours later, when two veiled women shot at a bus carrying tourists in the Sayida Aisha neighbourhood. One of the two women was then said to have shot the other, and then herself. She died instantly, and the other died of her wounds in hospital shortly afterwards. No one else was killed or injured in that attack.

Managers say the effects of these incidents on the tourism industry were limited to Cairo, while destinations outside were unaffected. “We’re 100 per cent booked,” said Ahmed El Meligui, associate director of sales at the Grand Hyatt in Sharm El-Sheikh. “We were full to capacity before the incidents, and we’re still full now.” He added that the hotel was scheduled to host three major conferences, none of which had been cancelled. “There have been no cancellations,” he said. —Dawn/IPS News Service