INTERVIEW-Egypt tourism revenues drop to $3.6 bln to end-April

* Egypt tourism revenues fall to $3.6 bln in 4-mths to end-Apr * Number of visitors drops 10.3 pct to 3.67 million in period * Declines fed by sharp drop in tourists from eastern Europe

By Cynthia Johnston

CAIRO, May 20 (Reuters) - Tourism revenues in Egypt tumbled 13.2 percent in the first four months of 2009 to $3.6 billion due to the global slowdown, largely thanks to a sharp drop in eastern European visitors, the tourism minister said on Wednesday. The number of tourists visiting the most populous Arab country, home to pharaonic ruins and Red Sea beach resorts, fell by 10.3 percent to 3.67 million in the four months to the end of April, Zoheir Garrana told Reuters in an interview.

"In general, the drop is not frightening. Definitely what we need is to stay focused and just to gain consumer confidence," Garrana said, adding that eastern European tourists accounted for 60 to 70 percent of the decline.

"We have witnessed a very significant drop in the resorts, and this is mainly because the clients who are going there are from the eastern European countries," he added.

Garrana, whose country depends heavily on tourism as a source of revenue, said he was hoping to keep the overall decline in visitors to 8 or 9 percent for the year as a whole.

A slump in tourism, which employs about 10 percent of Egypt's workforce, is among factors that could drag economic growth this year to its lowest level in half a decade.

Garrana said the number of visitors from Ukraine had dropped over 57 percent while visitors from Poland and Russia had declined by around 23 percent. He attributed the drop to the relative weakness of those countries' currencies against the dollar, saying that had made packages more expensive.

NO DECLINE IN HIGH END TOURISM

But luxury tourism had not slowed in the year to date. Nile cruises that ply the river in southern Egypt stopping at pharaonic temples and other ancient ruins, for example, were witnessing a high occupancy rate, Garrana said. Tourism from Arab countries, meanwhile, was actually a sliver higher in the four months to end-April, boosted by higher tourism numbers from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, he added.

Egypt, a popular destination from Europe, is home to some of the world's most famous historic sites, such as the Pyramids of Giza. It also boasts beaches and coral reefs along the Red Sea.

More than 12.8 million tourists visited Egypt in 2008, providing revenues of $10.985 billion, government figures showed. The industry is Egypt's main hard currency earner, followed by worker remittances.

"One advantage Egypt definitely has is we have a very big variety and diversity of products," Garrana said.

"People are still very much in demand of high end products, and quality. And people are willing to pay for that. One of the highest occupancies in town is the high end hotels, all over Egypt," he added.

Garrana, who gave no figures for occupancy, had said in March that occupancy rates at Egyptian hotels had dipped to an average of about 70 percent due to the global economic slowdown.

Egyptian investment bank EFG-Hermes has said occupancy could fall below 50 percent this year and the number of tourists could drop by 18 percent to 10.5 million. (Writing by Cynthia Johnston; Editing by Ron Askew)