Russia jet bombing fears blow to Egypt tourism

Concerns raised by Britain and the U.S. that a bomb may have downed a Russian airliner in Egypt have cast a shadow over a once popular holiday destination already hit by years of political turmoil.

The Egyptian affiliate of the militant ISIS group has claimed responsibility for the crash, and Wednesday the United States and Britain said the midair disintegration of the Airbus A321 over the restive Sinai Peninsula – an ISIS bastion – could have been caused by a bomb.

A string of major tour operators immediately suspended all packages to the beach resorts of the peninsula’s south coast and analysts warned of a serious risk of lasting damage to a key sector of the Egyptian economy.

“This really could represent a hard blow to the Egyptian tourism industry already burdened by years of political uncertainty,” said Fawaz Gerges, professor at the London School of Economics.

“Would you go to Sharm el-Sheikh is the question now?”

Britain and Ireland Wednesday suspended flights to and from the South Sinai resort airport of Sharm el-Sheikh, from where the Saint Petersburg-bound airliner took off Saturday before crashing around 23 minutes later, killing all 224 people on board.

Egypt has long promoted the Red Sea resorts of Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurgada as jewels of its tourism industry. Famed for their pristine beaches and scuba diving, they have attracted millions of holiday-makers, many of them Russians.