CAIRO — The families of three Mexican tourists mistakenly killed in Egypt in September when military helicopters fired on them will be paid $180,000 each, an official said on Monday.
The official, Elhamy ElZayat, the chairman of Egypt’s tourism federation, said the payments were not “an admission of guilt” by the government of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, but rather an attempt to revive Egypt’s flagging tourism industry.
“We need the tourists to come back. We are doing this for the country,” ElZayat said. The tourism federation licenses travel companies and, though not formally part of the government, is partly run by government appointees.
The attack was one of the deadliest on foreign tourists in Egypt in years. The three tourists were among 18 people having a picnic in Egypt’s western desert. Officials said the party had been mistaken for Islamist militants.
Twelve people were killed in all, eight Mexican tourists and four Egyptians. Several others were wounded.
Egyptian officials did not publicly apologize for the killings. They faulted the travel company that organized the tour for bringing the party to an area known for smuggling and insurgent activity without getting security clearance.
ElZayat also blamed the travel company, Windows of Egypt Tours, saying it had made a “mistake.” The company could not be reached immediately for a response. Officials at the Mexican Embassy in Cairo also could not be reached for comment.
Tourism, a critical source of hard currency for the government, has been devastated by years of political turmoil as well as a militant insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula. In October, militants brought down a passenger jet carrying Russian tourists from the Sinai resort of Sharm el Sheikh, killing the 224 people on board. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for that attack.
ElZayat said the federation was negotiating compensation with the families of the other Mexicans who were killed. The Egyptian victims, he said, would have to wait for the outcome of local investigations. ElZayat said he did not know the status of those inquiries.