Egypt?s president declared that the ?lights will not be going out in Sharm al-Sheikh? as he visited the Red Sea resort hit by suspension of foreign flights since a Russian airliner crash some experts suspect was caused by a bomb, Reuters reported.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said his visit was a message of support for investors and businesses in Sharm al-Sheikh and Egypt?s other main Red Sea resort of Hurghada. But as he spoke, dozens protested outside one nearby hotel over lay-offs.
Egypt said it stood to lose US$280 million a month from the halt in Russian and British flights to Sharm el-Sheikh, the two countries accounting for two thirds of foreign visitors to the beach and diving holiday destination.
Thousands of Russian and British tourists have already left, and several other European countries also suspended flights following the October 31 crash which killed all 224 people on board.
?The lights will not be going out in Sharm al-Sheikh or Hurghada while we are here,? Sisi told reporters. ?We will support them in facing [the situation] we are in.?
His words, however, were little comfort to dozens of laid-off workers protesting outside Sharm al-Sheikh?s Rosetta Hotel.
?Sisi is all talk and no delivery,? said Sayed Megahed, who heads the association of shop and bazaar renters in the resort. ?The very moment Sisi was at the airport, hotel managers were getting rid of staff.?
Egypt?s tourism revenue is a vital source of foreign currency in a country which has seen its foreign cash reserves dwindle sharply during years of political instability following the 2011 uprising which overthrew Hosni Mubarak.
Last year, nearly 10 million tourists visited, far less than the 14.7 million in 2010. Officials had hoped for modest growth this year but the Sinai plane crash, coming at the start of the peak Red Sea winter holiday season, is likely to reverse that.