CAIRO (Reuters) - Hotel occupancy rose to 35-40% in Egypt’s Red Sea resorts of Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada in the first six months of the year, from 20-23% a year earlier, a tourism official said on Tuesday. In the capital Cairo, hotel occupancy rose to about 45%, from 27% in the first half of 2020, the official told Reuters. Tourism is an important source of foreign revenue and contributes up to 15% of Egypt’s gross domestic product but was brought to a near standstill by the coronavirus pandemic. The government had placed a 50% occupancy limit on hotels, restaurants and cultural values to counter the spread of COVID-19, but announced earlier this week that it would raise the limit to 70%. Reporting by Mohamed Sayed; Writing by Aidan Lewis, editing by Louise Heavens Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.