Egypt's tourism revenue rose 3.1 per cent in the first half of 2015, hitting $3.3 billion from $3.2 billion in the same period last year, the tourism minister said on Wednesday.

The total number of tourists rose 8.2 per cent in the first half, Khaled Ramy told Al-Borsa, a local financial newspaper. He confirmed the figures to Reuters in a text.

The tourism sector has been hammered since the popular uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

It suffered another blow when a suicide bomber blew himself up near the ancient Egyptian Karnak Temple in the southern city of Luxor in June.

In May, Ramy said advance bookings indicated the full-year total would be around 12 million tourists, below 2010's peak of 14.7 million but above 2014's 9.9 million.

Revenue last year was $7.3 billion, Ramy said in May, adding that he wanted to reach $26 billion by 2020. - Reuters