Although tourism is down in Egypt, the decline has not been as bad as hotels had feared, Ahmad al-Nahas, chairman of the Egyptian Tourism Federation, told Lebanon's Daily Star newspaper. 'We were really worried,' al-Nahas said. 'But it looks like our drop will not be as big as originally anticipated.' He said revenue at hotels in Egypt between January and March were down only about 12% below last year, 'which was an exceptional year'. The hotels that have seen the biggest declines have been those in Red Sea resort cities Hurghada and Sharm El- Sheikh, where occupancy rates were down by up to 40% in recent months, though improving in March.