AMERICANS are visiting Egypt in numbers not seen since record-setting 2000, according to statistics released by the Egyptian Tourism Authority. It is a trend that continued in May this year, with 18,935 Americans visited Egypt, 16.3 per cent over the same period in 2005.
Egypt has seen continued double-digit growth from American tourists over 2005, the Egyptian Tourism Authority says. In 2006, 98,388 Americans have visited Egypt, an extraordinary increase of 20.9 percent over last year's 81,398 for the same period.
Whether visiting the Pyramids of the beaches of Sharm El-Sheikh American interest is high, and is thought to be spurred by three museum exhibitions touring the US, including displays on Tutankhamun and Hatshepsut.
Egypt has suffered major setbacks in the last decade due to several terrorist attacks, but an increasing resistance to terror attacks means setbacks only last for a few months or weeks. The country has seen a massive investment in tourism infrastructure with new hotels, resorts and mass charter tourism.