Nightly News   |  February 13, 2011

Egypt confronts tourism hit

The streets are regaining their energy, but the same can’t be said of Egypt’s $11 billion tourist industry. NBC’s Ron Allen reports.

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>>> another story about money, a reversal of fortune for one of egypt 's great industries, tourism. the upheaval kept many visitors away. ron allen with that part of the story.

>> reporter: they've sat on a plateau overlooking cairo for more than 4,000 years. the pyramids. the only wonder of the ancient world still standing . and today, standing very much alone.

>> america is very good.

>> reporter: this man says he's never seen so futurists in his 25 years of giving rides aboard his camel. this is what it usually looks like around the most impressive man-made monument anywhere. but since tahrir square erupted and countless foreigners fled, the local people who make a living on tourists tips have been desperate for them to return. you think they're coming back?

>> no.

>> its been this way since the crisis began nearly three weeks ago.

>> reporter: egypt has been losing about $300 l every day, a lot of that tourists dollars, money that would have been spent by people coming to see all these magnificent sights. the streets of cairo are getting their energy back, but not the places where tourists go and that's egypt 's lifeblood. more than 10% of their jobs and economy. an industry worth $11 billion and crucial to its image around the world. in the heart of tahrir square not much of a destination before this, but now, the place for egyptians to snap a picture and join the celebration. they believe this now historic sight will soon start to draw the foreigners back. this tour business was shut for weeks.

>> we all know that there's a reason for this and we're happy about the reasons and we know that egypt will go up again one day.

>> reporter: rise like the pyramids did thousands of years ago. in a nation where everything now seems possible. ron allen , nbc news, cairo .