Egypt fears for tourism after foiled 'massacre' in Luxor

A foiled attack on one of Egypt's most popular ancient attractions was raising fears Thursday for tourism and foreign investment as the country tries to recover from years of political and economic chaos.
Bombings and militant attacks have been common since the army ousted president Mohamed Morsi in 2013, targeting security forces in retaliation for bloody repression of the Islamist's supporters.
But experts believe jihadists have decided to target the Achilles' heel of tourism and investments in order to weaken the government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who has pledged to fix the battered economy.
"Luxor has no source of revenue other than tourism. Tourists running away means the people cannot lead a decent life," said archaeology expert Handaka Ali.

Yesterday, assailants widely believed to be jihadists tried to carry out an attack at the Karnak temple, an ancient complex in the southern city of Luxor.
One of them killed himself by setting off the explosive vest he was wearing, while police killed an accomplice and seriously wounded the other.

Whatever the assailants' intentions, their attempted attack seems to have scared people off.
Today there were more police than tourists in the streets of Luxor, particularly outside the many Pharaonic sites.
Only seven coaches and three minibuses were seen parked mid-morning around the ancient temple.
About 200 tourists strolled inside the temple itself, about 50 metres (yards) from the scene of Wednesday's foiled attack, but were far outnumbered by police around the site.

"The attacks will of course affect us... Our only source of revenue is tourism. No tourists means no money, which will be catastrophic," said Nasser Ahmed, a shopkeeper at a bazaar near Karnak.
Police said there had been about 600 tourists inside the temple when the assailants struck.
"For sure, there are fewer tourists than yesterday. Organised trips coming from the Red Sea resort town of Hurghada were cancelled," Salah al-Masekh, director of excavations at Karnak, told AFP.
June is low season for tourism in Upper Egypt, which is usually sweltering in suffocating heat during the summer.