Egypt's tourism revenue up in first half of 2015

Egypt's tourism revenue rose 3.1 percent in the first half of 2015 compared with the same period last year, the tourism minister said on Wednesday.

Tourism revenue rose to $3.3 billion in the first half from $3.2 billion in the same period last year, while the total number of tourists rose 8.2 percent in the first half, Khaled Ramy told Al-Borsa, a local financial newspaper. He confirmed the figures to Reuters in a text.

The tourism sector has been hammered since the popular uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

It suffered another blow when a suicide bomber blew himself up near the ancient Egyptian Karnak Temple in the southern city of Luxor in June.

In May, Ramy said advance bookings indicated the full-year total would be around 12 million tourists, below 2010's peak of 14.7 million but above 2014's 9.9 million.

Revenue last year was $7.3 billion, Ramy said in May, adding that he wanted to reach $26 billion by 2020.