As of late last week, the Muslim Brotherhood had declared victory, but amid allegations of voter fraud, Egyptian officials had postponed an official announcement of results.

The latter, they fear, could mean less tolerance toward non-Islamic visitors, which in turn would further damage an already hemorrhaging industry.

“There are a lot of questions if the candidate from the Muslim Brotherhood becomes president,” said Ashish Sanghrajka, president of Big Five Tours and Expeditions. “But the fact that the vote is split so evenly... does mitigate what happens with the Muslim Brotherhood.”

Sanghrajka was alluding to the Brotherhood’s claim of victory by a relatively slim margin: 52% for Morsi and 48% for Shafik.

Moreover, days before the voting began, Egypt’s military asserted rights and authority that many interpreted as a bloodless coup. The move raised serious questions about how, when and to what extent Egypt’s military will transfer power to the new president.

And, since the military is believed to be sympathetic to maintaining Egypt’s secular traditions, it is not clear to what extent a Muslim Brotherhood victory might change official attitudes toward Westerners and thus the country’s tourism industry.

Mohammed Fayed of Guardian Travel, an Egypt specialist based in Virginia, said, “It’s confusing for everyone on the ground there. But still, there is hope. Whoever wins, let’s go ahead and move on with our lives.”

If Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, becomes the next president of Egypt, “it’s something new for everyone,” Fayed said. “We don’t know. Tourism-wise, yes, it might have a small effect.”

Fayed was alluding to suggestions by other Muslim Brotherhood candidates during the campaign that a Morsi-led government might take a more conservative approach to tourism: for example, requesting visitors to refrain from wearing revealing beachwear.

He was hopeful that the rebound would continue once the dust settles on the presidential election and pieces of the political landscape fall into place.

The reason for his hope, Sanghrajka said, is that “all those people who have been protesting in Egypt, they’re going to get what they’ve been asking for: change.”