LUXOR, Egypt (CNN) -- Despite Monday's attack in Luxor that left more than 60 people dead -- most of them international tourists -- Egypt's president said Tuesday that his country is still safe for visitors.

"We are capable of overcoming all of this," said Hosni Mubarak as he toured the site of Monday's massacre. "We are sure we can secure the area."

The World Tourism Organization agreed with Mubarak. "There's no reason people should stay away," said WTO spokesman Abdel Ghaffar. "Terrorism is present in every country in the world, and the Egyptian government is taking special measures to ensure the safety of visitors to the region."

But for some travel companies, the assurances are not enough. They have suspended their trips to Egypt, and some countries are recommending their citizens avoid Luxor.

Egypt's most powerful Islamic militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack, the most deadly in a five-year insurgency designed to oust the secular government and install strict Islamic rule. The six gunmen who opened fire on the tour groups were killed in the ensuing shoot-out with police. Egypt's Interior Ministry revised the death toll Tuesday, without comment, from 71 to 68.

Ghaffar said he had "no doubt" that the attack would negatively impact Egyptian tourism -- which brings in $3 billion to the north African country annually -- but his Madrid-based organization and Egyptian officials hoped it would "be a short-term influence."

With tourism Egypt's second biggest money-maker, early predictions had called 1997 a record-breaking year, with more than 4 million international visitors expected -- a fact certainly not lost on opposition to Mubarak's government.

"My feeling is that the economy of Egypt, as with very many places in the world, is so tied into tourism and if you want to impact a country where it really hurts, you're going to impact the tourist trade," said Sally Shelton of First Travel Corporation.

The attack in Luxor -- the city's temples and tombs, including that of boy-king Tutankamun are some of Egypt's top tourist destinations -- is not the first of its kind in Egypt. Since 1992, there have been more than 30 incidents of violence against tourists, but the number of terrorist actions dropped in 1996.

Tourism has not only survived the turmoil in the region, it has been on an upswing. Last year, the tourism industry in the Middle East grew by 10 percent -- twice the world average.

In Jordan, tourism has doubled since the country's 1994 peace treaty with Israel. And the number of international visitors to Lebanon has risen sharply since the end of its 15-year civil war.

"Peace is bringing tourism, and tourism is the propeller of our national economies," said Jordanian Tourism Minister Akel Biltaji.

But without security, that propeller could come to a stop.

"People will be afraid to go, and I personally will be afraid to send them," said Manuela Bornstein of First Travel Corp. "I would be very hesitant to send them."

That, of course, is precisely what those who orchestrate such attacks are banking on, and precisely what those who live by Luxor's tourism fear.

"Luxor lives on tourism," said Magdi Wassef, a waiter at a Luxor hotel. "If that goes, there's nothing. If we found the terrorists, we would tear them apart bit by bit."

Based on a report from CNN's Business and Travel and Beyond. The segment appears Monday through Friday on Daybreak at 5:30 AM (ET) and on Early Edition at 7 AM (ET). BT&B also airs Sundays on the World Today at 10 PM (ET).

Reuters contributed to this report.

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• Security tightened in Europe after attack - November 18, 1997
• Attack on tourists in Egypt leaves 71 dead - November 18, 1997
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• 10 killed in Cairo terrorist attack - September 18, 1997
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Related sites:

• Egyptian Ministry of Tourism
• Egypt State Information Service
• Arabic News .com Front Page for Arab News
• U.S. Consular Information Sheet: Egypt
  • Public Announcement - November 17, 1997
• CDC Travelers' Health: North Africa

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