Tourism in Egypt

Tourism is one of the most important sectors in Egypt's economy. More than 12.8 million tourists visited Egypt in 2008, providing revenues of nearly $11 billion. The sector employs about 12 percent of Egypt's workforce.
Egypt has been an important destination for people in the Middle East, Africa and Europe from ancient times. Beginning in the early 19th century — with Napoleon's invasion of Egypt — interest in Egyptology surged and this fascination laid the foundations for the modern tourism industry in the country. Tourism remains an important pillar of the Egyptian economy and has received wide support from the government.

StatisticsIn 2000, there were about 5.5 million foreign tourist arrivals, with over 3.8 million from Europe, and receipts totaled more than $4.3 billion. In that year there were 113,611 rooms in hotels and 227,222 beds with a 73% occupancy rate. In 2002, the US government estimated the average daily cost of staying in Cairo to be about $167, around the same as other major cities in Egypt.

Tourism in Egypt was a $11.6bn (£7.3bn) industry in 2009.

the source is wikipedia