Tourists are staying away from Egypt, two months after the start of a popular revolution that ousted long-time President Hosni Mubarak, dealing another blow to a nation already staggered by inefficiency, corruption and poverty.
Protesters compared Mubarak to the ancient Pharaohs. Their tombs, in time-worn and time-honored pyramids, rise majestically in Egypt's desert, beckoning to millions of tourists who used to admire them.
Now the sand-swept sites stand nearly empty. It was a pro-democracy revolution that overturned the government, but experience shows that any kind of turmoil frightens tourists away.
Anti-government protests started Jan. 25. Officials have said more than 210,000 tourists fled the country in the last week of January and the first few days of February.
The government has estimated that the unrest cost the nation about US$1.7 billion in the span of about two weeks, with more than half that figure stemming from tourism losses.
The effects are dire. About two million Egyptians make their living from tourism, which amounts to 5 to 6 percent of the nation's gross domestic product. Unemployment is already widespread, and underemployment, or jobs that pay very little, is even more common.
Some new patterns are emerging while foreign tourists reconsider their options.
The few tourists now in the country make pilgrimages to Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo, where hundreds of thousands gathered in anti-government protests. Sidewalk merchants line the circumference of the square, hawking T-shirts, flags, bookmarks, tissue boxes, hats, badges, stickers and wall hangings dedicated to the revolution.
Fueled by the same renewed national pride, Egyptians are visiting tourist sites once packed with sunburned European visitors.
Children clamber up otherwise deserted pyramids. Their parents relax on the large stone building blocks below, enjoying the spring sunshine. But they don't have the cash of their foreign counterparts, who fueled this crucial segment of the Egyptian economy.
Young Egyptians use the moment to stage a colorful plea for tourists to come back. Dressed up as Pharaoh kings, they pose by the Nile and the pyramids.
"The tourist is our guest, be generous with them," one of their signs reads. Another man holds up a sign declaring, "Egypt is a country of safety and security."
But there are precious few foreigners around to read them.
自大批群眾發動革命，要求萬年總統穆巴拉克下台的兩個月以來，遊客紛紛走避埃及。這對早已飽受效率不彰、貪腐與貧窮之苦的埃及來說，不啻又是一大打擊。
抗議民眾將穆巴拉克喻為古代法老王。各代法老的陵寢位於歷經風霜且受人尊敬的金字塔內，雄偉壯麗地聳立於埃及的沙漠中，並吸引了數百萬名過去崇拜這些法老的遊客前來。
如今這些沙漠景點幾乎空無一人。雖然這是一場擁護民主、讓政府倒台的革命，但經驗卻顯示，任何一場動亂都會讓觀光客卻步。
反政府示威自一月廿五日展開。政府官員表示，在一月的最後一週和二月前幾天，就有超過廿一萬名遊客離開埃及。
埃及政府估計這場動亂在約兩週期間造成該國高達十七億美元左右的損失，其中逾一半是來自觀光業。
動盪帶來的後果更是慘不忍睹。埃及大約有兩百萬人是靠觀光業維生，該產業更佔埃及國內生產毛額的百分之五到六。該國失業問題本來就嚴重，但缺乏工作機會或低薪工作現在甚至愈來愈普遍。
當外籍遊客正重新思考旅遊去向時，一些新行程出現了。
現在在埃及觀光的少數遊客，來到開羅市中心的解放廣場朝聖。抗議行動當時，這裡有數十萬名反政府群眾聚集。解放廣場周圍的攤販也在此兜售起紀念革命行動的 T 恤、旗幟、書籤、面紙盒、帽子、徽章、貼紙以及壁飾。
重新燃起的這股對國家的驕傲，讓埃及人來到以往擠滿了曬傷歐洲遊客的觀光景點。
孩子們攀登上原本空蕩蕩的金字塔，家長在下方的大石塊建材上歇息，享受春日陽光。但他們手頭並不如維繫埃及經濟命脈的外國觀光客那樣寬裕。
埃及年輕人利用這個時刻生動地向觀光客發起呼籲，希望他們回流。他們將自己扮成法老王，在尼羅河與金字塔旁擺起姿勢來。
其中一個牌子上頭寫著：「觀光客是我們的客人，要善待他們。」另一名男子舉起的牌子則寫著：「埃及是一個安全的國家。」
不過駐足圍觀的外國人卻少之又少。
全通翻譯引用 http://chinapost.com.tw/guidepost/topics/default.asp?id=2697&pre=1&sub=7
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