I struggled with how to title this post. Certainly Egypt has become a destination that many in the West avoid, and i know from working with clients through my award booking service that despite excellent business class award availability on the non-stop New York JFK – Cairo EgyptAir flight that most folks aren’t keen to connect in Cairo these days.

So certainly the parts of Egypt dependent on tourist dollars are suffering. Still, this seems like a very poor coping mechanism:

An Egyptian newspaper reported that a young man from the city of Luxor in the south cut off his penis and buried in a graveyard after suffering depression as a result of the decline in tourism since the outbreak of popular protests that led to the removal of former President Hosni Mubarak in February.

I wonder if the Maldives government’s plan to shut down spas, including at the resorts would have similar unintended consequences?

(HT: Alan H.)