Egypt's ancient temple city of Luxor faces a crippling blow to its tourism industry, already reeling from unrest following the country's uprising, after a horrific hot-air balloon crash that killed 19 tourists.
"The accident will have a devastating effect on tourism," said Yasser al-Zambali, who owns the Dream Balloon company in Luxor, one of a handful of balloon companies that organises sunrise flights over the city.
"How can I now convince other tourists to pay a single dollar to ride a balloon now?"
The hot-air balloon exploded and plunged to earth during a dawn flight Tuesday, killing 19 tourists from Hong Kong, Japan, France, Britain and Hungary.
Residents and tour industry professionals fear that the accident will keep more tourists away, as Egypt struggles to revive the industry responsible for much of its foreign currency revenue as per an AFP report.
Frequent unrest around the country has contributed to a painful economic crisis since 2011, when a popular uprising ousted long-time president Hosni Mubarak, and foreign reserves have plunged more than $20 billion since then.
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