CAIRO: The number of tourists visiting Egypt dropped by more than a third in the second quarter of 2011 compared to the same quarter last year as political instability continued to plague the sector, state-run statistics agency CAPMAS said on Monday.

A total of 2.2 million tourists visited Egypt from April to June compared to 3.5 million during the same period last year, CAPMAS said in a statement.

Tourism, a pillar of the economy, was hit hard by an uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak on Feb. 11 that sent tourists packing. Tourism revenues in the financial year 2010-11 were $10.6 billion compared to $11.6 billion in 2009-10.