Egypt tourism minister confident of recovery, despite challenges

Egypt's tourism minister hopes to fully revive one of the country's most vital industries by next April but persuading the world that it is safe to visit the ancient pyramids or Red Sea resorts after three years of upheaval is a daunting task.

Hisham Zaazou is mounting public relations campaigns, inviting foreign officials to visit and assess Egypt's stability for themselves and boosting security at airports and hotels.

He is fully aware that a single attack by Islamist insurgents or new street protests in a nation destabilized by political turmoil since the fall of autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011 could instantly undermine what he says is progress.