For a good time, call Egypt's Antiquities Ministry
Egypt has come up with some new uses for some very old venues.
CAIRO — Cash-strapped Egypt has devised a new money-making scheme that could have pharaohs rolling over in their sarcophagi.
In an attempt to resurrect its tourism industry and unearth a new source of revenue, Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities will allow social functions — weddings, birthday parties and the like — to be held at archaeological sites beginning Nov. 1.
The government is trying to overcome the severe revenue shortage at ostensibly “self-financing” sites operated by the Ministry of Antiquities. Since the 2011 revolution, foreign tourism in Egypt has plummeted. The resulting drop-off in revenue now threatens to derail museum construction projects.
Revenues in the Egyptian archaeological sector have declined from 1.3 billion Egyptian pounds ($146 million) in 2010 to 275 million pounds ($31 million) for the 2015-16 financial year, as a result of the steep drop in the number of tourists. In 2010, it was estimated that 14.7 million tourists came to Egypt, spending a total of 147.4 million nights in the country. By comparison, in 2015, 9.3 million tourists visited and spent a total of 84.1 million nights in the country.
