Egypt's revenues from tourism, which were stung by the global economic slowdown in the first half of 2009, jumped 17.6 percent to $5.58 billion in the six months to end-June, the tourism minister said on Tuesday.

Egypt is aiming to bring in $13 billion in the full year 2010, Tourism Minister Zoheir Garrana said in an interview with Reuters. "In 2010 I would like very much to close the year with a revenue of over $13 billion," he said.

Tourism accounts for some 11 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and provides about one in eight jobs in Egypt, the ministry says.

It is also one of the country's main sources of foreign currency. Tourism revenue in Egypt, home to Red Sea resorts and pharaonic ruins, dipped about 2.1 per cent in 2009. This compares to a 17 per cent drop in Cyprus and a 10 per cent fall in Greece.

About 12.5 million tourists visited Egypt in 2009, bringing revenues of $10.8 billion, down from 12.8 million tourists and nearly $11 billion in 2008.-Reuters