Egyptian tourism receipts are expected to range between $4 billion to $4.5 billion by end of the current year, finance minister Amr El-Garhy said at press conference on Tuesday.

The total tourism revenues in 2015 registered $6.1 billion.

El-Garhy attributed the sharp drop in revenue to the setbacks the tourism sector has faced over the last six to nine months, including the downing of a Russian airliner over the Sinai Peninsula in October that killed all 224 people on board.

Russia suspended all passenger flights to Egypt following the plane crash and raised concerns about security in Egyptian airports. The ban on Russian flights drove down the number of incoming Russian tourists by more than 50 percent.

Several European countries have also suspended their flights to the Sinai resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh.

Tourism is an important source of foreign currency revenue for Egypt, which has been seeking billions in foreign financing facilities to address an acute hard currency shortage that followed political and security unrests in the wake of 2011 uprising. 

Egypt's tourism was at its peak in 2010 generating $12.5 billion.