Cairo: The numbers of Qataris visiting Egypt has increased in the first nine months of this year despite strains in ties between the two Arab countries, figures released on Wednesday showed.
Around 16,347 Qatari tourists visited Egypt from January to September against 12,337 in the corresponding period last year, a report by the state — run Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics said.
The Qatari visitors spent a total of 195,000 nights in Egypt, according to the report.
Around 7.4 million tourists from different nationalities came to Egypt in the first nine months of this year against 7.1 million in the same period in 2014, the report added.
Tourism is a main foreign currency earner for Egypt, representing 11.3 per cent of the country’s economy, according to official figures.
Relations between Egypt and Qatar have soured since the army’s 2013 overthrow of Islamist president Mohammad Mursi following enormous protests against his one-year rule.
Qatar is a staunch backer of Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood.
Egypt has repeatedly accused the Qatari TV network Al Jazeera of being biased to the Brotherhood, an accusation denied by the Doha-based broadcaster.
