Tourism represents 15 percent of the country"s total income Tourist minister vows to engage social media "more effectively" CAIRO: The number of tourists visiting Egypt during the first quarter of 2018 has increased by 30 percent compared to the previous year. Tourism minister Rania Al-Mashat said during a press conference that the tourism sector represented 15 percent of the total sources of income for the national economy. The minister attributed the increase to the latest campaign to promote tourism in Egypt. She noted that more campaigns will be used to attract visitors in the coming months. Al-Mashat admitted that Egypt is not using social media efficiently to promote tourism saying: “We have shortcomings in dealing with social media platforms, and our priority is to begin dealing with the issue.”