Tourist arrivals to Egypt in March 2011 declined by 60 per cent below last year, a report issued by CAPMAS indicated. 

As a result, tourism revenues in March plummeted dramatically, ending 65 per cent lower than last year’s numbers at $352 million.

March was still, however, a relative improvement over the two preceding months.

This decline in tourism amounts to a $1 billion loss of revenue in January and February, with a $1.6 billion overall slump in Egypt’s main foreign exchange earner in the first quarter.

Egypt's tourism revenues are forecasted to decline by $4 billion in 2011, fuelled by the growing social and political turmoil, a report by CI Capital concluded.

Tourist arrivals in March reached 535,000 as compared to 1.3 million in March of last year.

Eastern European tourists had the highest decline with 86.2 per cent, followed by Western Europeans, who dropped by almost half.