CAIRO, 06 March. - (ANA) - Egypt has been immune from Iranian retaliation, partly because the North African state is not home to any US or foreign military bases.

 

However, Egyptian authorities are angry about a recent US State Department security alert for US citizens to leave the Arab country immediately due to the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran.

 

"Such an alert raises questions about Egypt's inclusion in it," Mohamed Ali Kheir, a journalist and a TV host, wrote on Facebook.

 

"Egypt is the securest country in the region now," he added in a post on 3 March, a few hours after the US State Department issued its new security alert.

 

The new US State Department security advisory issued late on 2 March included 14 states, urging US citizens to depart immediately due to "serious safety risks" as the scope of Iranian retaliatory attacks widened across the region.

 

The Iranians say they are especially attacking US bases in these states, but the attacks have not spared civilian sites, amid expectations that vital economic assets can be caught in the crossfire of the current Iranian campaign in the coming days.

 

Kheir expressed fears that Egypt's inclusion in the advisory would harm the Egyptian tourism sector, a major foreign currency earner for his economically struggling country.

 

He called on Egyptian authorities to address the US State Department and try to lift Egypt from the list of states included in the same advisory.

 

Egypt has been immune from Iranian retaliation, partly because the North African state is not home to any US or foreign military bases. This was probably why Egypt's listing alongside higher-risk regional countries shocked Egyptians and kicked up a storm of comments on social media about the true motivations behind it.

 

"Including Egypt in the new security alert is part of the overall game," a Facebook user wrote in comment to Kheir's post.

 

He called for countering the advisory by launching a professional marketing campaign to keep tourist inflows intact.

 

 

 

 

Angry reactions to the latest guidance by the US State Department are fuelled by public awareness of the importance of the tourism sector for the Egyptian economy and the livelihoods of millions of Egyptians who work directly and indirectly in this sector, specialists said.

 

Tourism is a pillar of the Egyptian economy, contributing significantly to the national GDP and employing hundreds of thousands of Egyptians.

 

In 2025, the sector contributed 8.6% of the Egyptian GDP. In the same year, it employed almost 8% of the total workforce of 33.7 million.

 

The same sector is Egypt's third most important foreign currency earner after the exports, remittances by Egyptian economic migrants in other countries, especially Gulf countries, and earns even more money every year than the Suez Canal.

 

The advisory came just as the sector was beginning to show signs of recovery from the effects of past regional and global shocks, including Covid-19-induced shutdowns and flight suspensions, the toll the war in Ukraine has had on the number of incoming tourists, and the impacts of the war in the Gaza Strip.

 

"The timing of this alert cannot be worse in fact, particularly as the sector was starting to turn the corner," independent tourism expert, Karim Ahmed, said.

 

Speaking to The New Arab, he expected the alert to scare away tourists from the US and western and central Asian states that used to arrive in Egypt through the Gulf region.

 

"Such alerts usually make tourists afraid to visit the countries for which they are issued," Karim added.

 

In 2025, tourism revenues amounted to $18 billion, from $15.3 billion in 2024.

 

Tourist arrivals in the same year reached 19 million, a 21% increase, compared to 2024 arrivals, according to UN Tourism.

 

Tourism revenues energised market activity over the years, and in the last two years, kept the Egyptian economy afloat as it tried to cope with fallout from regional and international tensions, especially because of the war in Gaza, specialists like Karim said.

 

 

 

 

The importance of the tourism sector for the local economy was probably why the Egyptian government was alarmed at the latest travel advisory by the US State Department.

 

On 4 March, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said it contacted friendly capitals to convince them to keep their travel advisory level for Egypt unchanged.

 

In a statement, the ministry added that it highlighted Egypt's security and stability as well as the need for keeping travel advisories for the Arab country intact.

 

Probably mindful of Egypt's alarm at the US State Department's latest security alert, the US Embassy in Cairo issued a clarification on the same day, where it said that the overall advisory for the country remained unchanged at Level 2, which cites the heightened risk entailed in travelling to it.

 

The same clarification advised Americans not to travel to the northern and central parts of Sinai, which shares borders with Israel and Gaza, as well as the Western Desert.

 

Meanwhile, the local tourism sector has started experiencing some Iran war-related negative effects, even as these effects appear to be limited and indirect so far.

 

The Egyptian airspace remains fully open, with commercial airports maintaining normal operations.

 

This comes at a time main tourist areas, such as the Egyptian capital Cairo, the southern cities of Luxor and Aswan, the Red Sea resorts of Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada, are mainly considered safe.

 

Nevertheless, early signs of disruption include flight cancellations, delays, and rerouting due to regional airspace closures.

 

There are also growing concerns about cancellations in the winter high season, and potential drops in bookings from risk-averse travellers.

 

Meanwhile, economic analyses forecast broader Middle East tourism declines of 11-27% in 2026 arrivals.

 

These possible impacts add to immediate effects on the Egyptian economy from the US-Israel war against Iran.

 

These immediate effects have so far included the suspension of Israeli natural gas supplies, which make up 15-20% of the populous Arab country's daily consumption.

 

This comes amid fears from the possible renewal of Houthi attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea, which can reverse the initial recovery achieved by Suez Canal traffic in the aftermath of the implementation of the ceasefire in Gaza.

 

To prevent fallout from the US travel advisory or the war in Iran on the tourism sector, tourism specialists, including those in the field, call for launching aggressive promotion campaigns that highlight stable security conditions in Egypt.

 

"There is an urgent need for spotlighting stable security conditions in our country," Ashraf Abdelghani, a veteran tour guide, told TNA. "This can be done through active promotion campaigns that target important markets, especially in Europe."   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/06 March 2026 - - -