It is safe to approximate that Egypt’s labour force is split into three categories. We have about thirty-one percent working in agriculture, seventeen percent in industrial work, and fifty-two percent in the service industry.
Egypt’s economy relies heavily on banking, broadcasting, transportation, and tourism. Let’s take a quick peek at these sectors to which Egypt needs to sustain its economy. In terms of banking, Egypt is just coming out of the financial crisis since 2011. The newly elected president was supposed to address issues such as corruption, restore growth, and invest in human capital. Seeing as how Morsi was that so-called “President,” we can safely assume there was no leaps or bounds made in this department.
Broadcasting. The sweet media outlet where varying opinions are valued and we have the chance to offer our talents on the world stage. We have popular shows being shut down, newscasts being dreadfully biased, and no means to create any type of series without being scrutinized or judged.
Let’s also not forget out trustworthy metro system, where we have bombs going off and microbus drivers spewing disgusting insults while speeding down the streets.
This brings me to the last sector we have in the service industry, tourism. By some miracle, there are still tourists coming to Egypt. The question of “Why?” is screaming out in my mind. However, only now have we hammered the last nail in Egypt’s coffin in regards to what makes up 50% of our economy. Those poor tourists who were probably thinking, “Everything should be calm now, let us spend our precious vacation time from work going to see a wonder of the world.”
Yes, Egypt has unbelievably amazing tourist attractions that require little upkeep. We have the Valley of the Kings, the most lavish resorts. We have the pyramids for crying out loud. We have an amazing opportunity to lure people to Egypt without any advertising, without promotion, without marketing. In the west, kids learn about the mysteries of Egypt from when they are 7 years old. There is no need to tell a young 7-year-old Canadian boy how great mummies are, that boy already knows.
So that fateful moment when a bus exploded, killing those South Korean tourists, was the final straw at destroying Egypt’s tourism industry. Despite even all the political uncertainty and security, people still want to venture to Egypt. Now that we can see poor, innocent tourists are being targeted, why would anyone give Egypt a second thought?
Unfortunately, tourism was the only sector left in the service industry that Egypt still had hope for, and now that has been shattered too.
