Egypt authorities re-opened the beaches at Sharm El Sheikh that has been beleaguered by a series of shark attacks over the last two weeks.
The beaches were closed after a flurry of attacks over the past week that resulted in the death of an elderly German woman. Similar accidents took place last week that involved three Russian tourists in different incidents.
"We have allowed the beaches to reopen on condition hotel owners adhere to new controls to ensure the safety of foreign tourists while diving or swimming," South Sinai Governor Mohamed Abdel Fadil Shousha told reporters.
Continuous sea patrols as well as setting up of watchtowers along the beach shoreline are few measures that the authorities hope to implement as soon as possible. Swimmers are also required to remain within designated areas and refrain from feeding sharks.
Swimming, snorkelling and diving enthusiasts who were lucky enough to get cheap tickets on flights to the region were not so lucky after all as they faced disappointment after loosing out on the opportunity to enjoy at one of the most famous diving spots in the world.
The lifting up of the ban is indeed great news to such tourists along with local shop keepers who have witnessed a lull in the business since the attacks took place.
Egypt Fears Tourism Downturn
Sharm El Sheikh is a popular beach resort that entices a number of adventure tourists from all across the world to book cheap flights and travel to the region. The destination is particularly popular among Britons as a winter sun holiday spot. In fact, cheap airline tickets to the region are hunted by several budget travellers who seek affordable flights. Being such a popular tourist destination, several airlines offer daily flights to Sharm El Sheikh from UK.
However with such ghastly and terrible shark attacks, Egypt fears that it might loose its crown of being one of the world’s best winter sun destinations. The figure of tourists landing up at the Sharm El Sheikh International Airport has gone down a bit as tourists from different parts of the world are taking a stock of the situation before buying tickets for flights to the region.
Illegal Shark Feeding behind Attacks
Experts believe that illegal feeding might have prompted killer shark attacks. They reckon that shark attacks are most possibly a result of humans upsetting the environmental balance in the region.
“It is safe to say that the situation where you have a clump distribution in attacks, occurring after another in a limited geographical distribution, is very rare indeed,” George Burgess, who is the head of the International Shark Attack File, told AFP, adding that the unusual behaviour of the sharks was possibly the result of human action.
Director of South Sinai Conservation, Mohammed Salem also told AFP that illegal shark feeding is the most possible cause for attacks.
The beaches were closed after a flurry of attacks over the past week that resulted in the death of an elderly German woman. Similar accidents took place last week that involved three Russian tourists in different incidents.
"We have allowed the beaches to reopen on condition hotel owners adhere to new controls to ensure the safety of foreign tourists while diving or swimming," South Sinai Governor Mohamed Abdel Fadil Shousha told reporters.
Continuous sea patrols as well as setting up of watchtowers along the beach shoreline are few measures that the authorities hope to implement as soon as possible. Swimmers are also required to remain within designated areas and refrain from feeding sharks.
Swimming, snorkelling and diving enthusiasts who were lucky enough to get cheap tickets on flights to the region were not so lucky after all as they faced disappointment after loosing out on the opportunity to enjoy at one of the most famous diving spots in the world.
The lifting up of the ban is indeed great news to such tourists along with local shop keepers who have witnessed a lull in the business since the attacks took place.
Egypt Fears Tourism Downturn
Sharm El Sheikh is a popular beach resort that entices a number of adventure tourists from all across the world to book cheap flights and travel to the region. The destination is particularly popular among Britons as a winter sun holiday spot. In fact, cheap airline tickets to the region are hunted by several budget travellers who seek affordable flights. Being such a popular tourist destination, several airlines offer daily flights to Sharm El Sheikh from UK.
However with such ghastly and terrible shark attacks, Egypt fears that it might loose its crown of being one of the world’s best winter sun destinations. The figure of tourists landing up at the Sharm El Sheikh International Airport has gone down a bit as tourists from different parts of the world are taking a stock of the situation before buying tickets for flights to the region.
Illegal Shark Feeding behind Attacks
Experts believe that illegal feeding might have prompted killer shark attacks. They reckon that shark attacks are most possibly a result of humans upsetting the environmental balance in the region.
“It is safe to say that the situation where you have a clump distribution in attacks, occurring after another in a limited geographical distribution, is very rare indeed,” George Burgess, who is the head of the International Shark Attack File, told AFP, adding that the unusual behaviour of the sharks was possibly the result of human action.
Director of South Sinai Conservation, Mohammed Salem also told AFP that illegal shark feeding is the most possible cause for attacks.
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