At Egypt's Pyramids, the desperation of vendors to sell can be a little frightening. Young men descend on any car with foreigners long before it reaches the more than 4,500 year-old Wonder of the World. They bang on car doors, some waving sticks, demanding that the tourists come to their shop, ride their camel or just give them money.
In the southern city of Aswan, tour operator Ashraf Ibrahim was recently taking a tour group to a historic mosque when a mob of vendors trapped them inside their tour bus. The vendors told Ibrahim to steer business their way in the future or else they'd burn his tourist buses, he said.
Egypt's touts have always been aggressive — but now they're more desperate than ever after nearly two years of devastation to the tourism industry, a pillar of the economy. December, traditionally the start of Egypt's peak season, brought new pain. Many foreigners stayed away because of the televised scenes of clashes over a controversial constitution. Arrivals in December were down 40 percent from November.
Tourism workers have little hope that things will get better now that the constitution has come into effect. The power struggle between Islamist President Mohammed Morsi and the opposition threatens to erupt at any time into more unrest. More long term, many worry ruling Islamists will start making changes like banning alcohol or swimsuits on beaches.
Magda Fawzi, head of Sabena Management, said she's thinking of shutting down her company, which runs two hotels in the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh and four luxury cruise boats on the Nile. In one hotel, only 10 of 300 rooms were booked, and only one of her ships was operating. "I don't think there will be any stability with this kind of constitution. People will not accept it," she said.
For the public, the damage to Egypt's tourism industry has meant a drying up of income, given that it provided direct or indirect employment to one in eight Egyptians in 2010. Poverty has swelled at the country's fastest rate in Luxor province, which is highly dependent on visitors to its monumental temples and tombs. In 2011, 39 percent of its population lived on less than US$1 (approximately NT$29) a day, compared to 18 percent in 2009, according to government figures.
Complicating attempts to draw tourists back is the lawlessness that has gripped Egypt since its revolution. With police supervision now very low, tourist touts increasingly assault guides and even tourists to demand business. In September, 150 tour guides held a protest against attacks by vendors. "We have struggled with this problem since before the revolution, but now the situation is completely out of control," Ibrahim said.
在埃及的金字塔周圍，攤販要賣出商品的急切程度有點令人膽戰心驚。任何載著外國人的汽車還未開到此擁有逾四千五百年歷史的世界奇景所在的地點之前，年輕人就一湧而上，有的拍擊車門，有的揮舞著棍棒，硬是要遊客到他們的店裡，騎他們的駱駝，或直接給他們錢。
在南部城市阿斯旺，旅遊業者艾斯拉夫伊巴拉海最近帶了一團遊客前往一座歷史性的清真寺參觀，卻被一群攤販圍困在旅遊巴士裡頭。他說，攤販還警告他說，日後要讓他們有生意做，否則他們會燒掉他的旅遊巴士。
埃及兜攬生意的人作風向來積極，但在埃及經濟支柱之一的觀光業經過近兩年的摧殘後，這些人目前的窘迫就日甚一日。去年十二月是埃及旅遊業旺季的傳統起點，但現在只能帶來新的痛苦。許多外國人裹足不前，原因是電視轉播了埃及具爭議性憲法所引起的衝突場面。十二月入境的旅客比十一月少了四成。
現在憲法已經生效，受雇於觀光業的人更不敢奢望情形改善。伊斯蘭派總統穆希和反對派間的權力鬥爭可能隨時爆發更多暴亂。再看遠一點，很多人還擔心執政的伊斯蘭派會開始帶來一些轉變，如禁止喝酒或禁止在沙灘上穿泳裝等。
沙賓納管理公司主管馬格達法烏茲說，她在考慮乾脆結束她的公司算了。她的公司在度假城市沙姆沙伊克經營兩家觀光飯店，在尼羅河上有四艘豪華客輪，其中一家飯店三百間客房只有十間有人預訂客房，四艘客輪中也只有一艘在開。她說：「我覺得有了這樣的憲法，日後不會有什麼穩定。埃及人民根本不接受這部憲法。」
對於一般民眾來說，旅遊業所受到的損害意味著他們的收入逐漸陷於枯竭。在二○一○年，每八名埃及人中就有一人受雇於旅遊業。最依賴遊客前往境內神廟和陵寢參觀的勒克索省，貧窮人口成長速度最快。政府統計數字顯示，在二○一一年，該省百分之卅九的人口每天要靠不到一美元（約新台幣廿九元）過日子，二○○九年只有百分之十八的人是這樣。
自從革命爆發以來埃及就陷入法紀蕩然無存的狀態，這一點也妨礙了招徠遊客的動作。現在警方的監管十分鬆弛，旅遊業兜攬生意的人攻擊導遊甚至遊客以強索生意的情形日增。去年九月，有一百五十名導遊舉行示威，抗議攤販暴力攻擊。伊巴拉海說：「自從革命以來，我們一直在和這個問題掙扎，但現在局面已經全面失控了。」
全通翻譯引用 http://chinapost.com.tw/guidepost/topics/default.asp?id=3263&pre=1&sub=7
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