Egypt’s tourism industry and its economy are already hurting because of the presence of unending violence in the country. It is also lifting fears that other countries in the Middle East will be suffering as well.

Many travelers from United States have canceled their trips to Egypt. Some tour operators are avoiding the country while Delta Air Lines and EgyptAir postponed flights from the U.S. to Cairo.

The timing of political uncertainty and violence could not be worse in Egypt as winter is the popular season for visitors. However, large tour operators and cruise companies have canceled their Egyptian stops.

Tours going to other areas in the Middle East have not been canceled yet, but travel agents are already getting a continuous flow of questions about the status of the planned trips.

For a country that struggles with poverty, Egypt’s major industry is tourism. It accounts for 5 to 6 percent of the country’s total domestic product, according to several estimates. Often, Egypt is also the starting point for people to explore Jordan and other parts of Northern Africa.

After Johannesburg, Cairo International Airport is the second-largest airport in Africa. It handles an estimate of 16 million passengers a year. Most of them are tourists, said the Egyptian Tourist Authority in New York.

Investors were evidently concerned about the chaos that this situation might cause. Dubai’s major stock market index decreased to more than 4 percent on Sunday while stocks decreased to almost 2 percent in Kuwait and 3 percent in Qatar. Although Saudi Arabia’s main index increased 2.5 percent, it was only a partial recovery from their 6.4 percent drop on Saturday.