Despite bombs, Egypt tourism and economy seen strong

DAHAB, Egypt, Apr 27 (Reuters) Egypt's money-spinning tourism industry may take a hit after the bombs in Dahab this week, but tour operators and economists expect the impact to be limited, with the economy now more resilient to shocks.

Nearly a decade ago, when gunmen killed 60 tourists as they visited the ruins at Luxor, tourism was devastated and it took more than four years for the economy to recover. Now, tourists and the economy are more hardy, as attacks become more common.

The latest major strike in Egypt was in Dahab on Monday, when three bombs went off almost simultaneously in the packed streets of the Sinai beach resort, killing at least 18 people, including four foreigners, and wounding more than 80.

Today, two men with explosives blew themselves up in the northern Sinai, killing only themselves.

''There are attacks all over the world now, it's usual. So people come here to visit no matter what,'' said Abd Elaziz Elwan, the general manager of Abu Samra Travel, an agency with offices throughout Egypt and abroad.

''I don't think there will be any changes after Dahab. The people are still booking holidays. I haven't had any cancellations, not in Egypt and not from abroad,'' he said.

Tourism is less dominant than it once was, but it is still a vast foreign currency earner, pulling in more than 7 billion dollars a year -- equivalent to almost 10 per cent of the whole economy -- and employing one in 10 Egyptian workers.

It's a sector Egypt is keen to nurture, even if exporting natural resources, particularly gas, is a faster growing earner.

''The economy has become relatively immune ... to shocks like this,'' said an international economist who monitors Egypt.

''I expect a dip in reservations but it might be temporary.

Egypt is a very competitive tourist destination,'' he said.

''There's now a perception that terrorism is not limited to the Middle East and can happen almost anywhere.'' MORE REUTERS SHB KP0956