CAUTIOUS TOURISTS: Egyptian tourism, an engine of the national economy and a flagship of the regional industry, has taken yet another hit following protests in the wake of a film that denounces Islam’s holiest figure.
BIG BUCKS: Egypt generates 6.7 percent of gross domestic product from travel and tourism, and Tunisia is around the same level with 6.6 percent, with benefits to related businesses pushing the figures even higher, according to the World Tourism and Travel Council.
NEW DISCOVERIES: During the Arab Spring, tourists, many of them Arabs, turned away from countries in crisis and traveled to more stable places like Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
