Tourist arrivals in Egypt, after a slump during the unrest which led to the downfall of President Hosni Mubarak, rose by 23.2 per cent in the third quarter, according to official statistics.

Some 2.7 million people visited Egypt in the third quarter of this year, half-a-million more than those who came during the second quarter, the tourism development authority said.

In the second quarter, tourist arrivals plunged 35.4 per cent, down from 3.5 million visitors in the same period of 2010, according to official figures released in September. Tourism in Egypt, home to Pharaonic sites and Red Sea resorts, is a key money earner and source of foreign currency.

Reports in May said Egypt lost $2.27 billion in tourism revenues in the three months since the January-February uprising that ousted Mr Mubarak.

Egypt has struggled to revive tourism since the revolt which left most police stations torched and brought the military on to the streets.

The country attracted about 15 million tourists last year.