The prospects for Egypt 's vital tourism industry are dire following the crash of EgyptAir flight 804 on 19 May , carrying 66 people from Paris to Cairo . Egypt 's top civil aviation official says terrorism is the most likely cause of the crash rather than technical problems , which if proven correct , will mark the third attack on Egyptian aviation in six months . Analysts are questioning whether this latest tragedy will halt the country 's much - needed tourism industry , which according to the World Travel and Tourism Council accounts for around 11 % of Egypt 's GDP and supports around 11 % of its jobs , Olivier Jager from travel intelligence firm ForwardKeys warns : " This is a country that needs tourism to survive . " Furthermore , as Royal United Services Institute 's Professor H A Hellyer points out : " The attack would have exposed flaws in French security , making both France and Egypt the target – and both of those countries have enemies among radical militant groups . Flight 843 Cairo - Tunis " The country continues to grapple with protests over economic instability and security concerns , and as previously noted , its tourism industry was already experiencing its worst crisis in years . Egypt 's economy grew 4.2 % in 2015 , but the IMF now expects growth to slow to 3.3 % for 2016 , down from the 4.3 % predicted prior to the attack last November .
The prospects for Egypt 's vital tourism industry are dire following the crash of EgyptAir flight 804 on 19 May , carrying 66 people from Paris to Cairo . Egypt 's top civil aviation official says terrorism is the most likely cause of the crash rather than technical problems , which if proven correct , will mark the third attack on Egyptian aviation in six months . Analysts are questioning whether this latest tragedy will halt the country 's much - needed tourism industry , which according to the World Travel and Tourism Council accounts for around 11 % of Egypt 's GDP and supports around 11 % of its jobs , Olivier Jager from travel intelligence firm ForwardKeys warns : " This is a country that needs tourism to survive . " Furthermore , as Royal United Services Institute 's Professor H A Hellyer points out : " The attack would have exposed flaws in French security , making both France and Egypt the target – and both of those countries have enemies among radical militant groups . " The country continues to grapple with protests over economic instability and security concerns , and as previously noted , its tourism industry was already experiencing its worst crisis in years . Egypt 's economy grew 4.2 % in 2015 , but the IMF now expects growth to slow to 3.3 % for 2016 , down from the 4.3 % predicted prior to the attack last November .