Sharm el-Sheikh’s residents and visitors never expected tourism would develop the small diving camp so quickly over the past 35 years. The old camping spot used to have just three hotels, a small grocery store and a shop with a landline phone for rent, all which was guarded by six policemen.
The small town used to be empty to the point of becoming a favourite spot for German, Swiss and Egyptian safari trips, admiring the beauty of the landscape.
According to Mohamed Salem, director of South Sinai protected areas, said that when Egypt reclaimed Sharm el-Sheikh from Israel, it merely consisted of chalets on Om al-Sayyed hill and the Marina Sharm hotel. When the city began to develop in the 1990s, the government issued the protectorates law to preserve the coral reefs along the coast. However, the developed did not occupy more than 20 percent of the total area of the city. If it had not been for the law, environmental resources would have faced multiple dangers, because of ongoing construction works. Salem added that more than 50 of the city’s coastal areas are still unused.
The Great Barrier Reef in Australia, according to Salem, stretches out for 2,700 km. It is visited by 20,000 tourists, while the Ras Mohamed protectorate and the city coasts are visited by 6 million tourists annually.
Rafael al-Maary, underwater photographer, said he used to love the old city more than the new one, adding that the resort used to have three hotels only: Aqua Marina, Marina and Aida, situated on the hill. Though it only had six policemen, the town was safe.
It was the peace conference in 1996 that placed Sharm el-Sheikh on the international tourist map, he added.
Nader al-Sharqawy, secretary general for Egyptian expatriates affairs in the Free Egyptians Party, said the city only had a few houses and tourist camps, before it became a large resort. According to South Sinai Governor Khaled Fouda, the city currently has as meny as 66,000 hotel rooms. No more resorts are being built, though new projects for entertainment and an international marina for yachts will soon be proposed.
