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Egypt on alert after shark assaults in Purple Sea
MEE correspondent
Wed, 07/06/2022 – 09:33
Egyptian authorities say they’re taking measures to guard vacationers off Egypt’s Purple Beach, within the wake of shark assaults that killed two international vacationers close to Sahl Hasheesh, a well-known bay south of the resort city of Hurghada.
A 68-year-old Austrian lady was killed in an assault by a shark within the space on 1 July.
Three days later, a 40-year-old Romanian lady was killed in one other assault, solely 600 meters away from the location of the primary assault.
‘I believe we have to create buffer zones the place vacationers can swim and dive safely’
– Ahmed Idriss MP
It’s unclear whether or not it was the identical shark that attacked the 2 girls.
The assaults brought about panic in Sahl Hasheesh and in Hurghada typically, and prompted the authorities to shut off a stretch of the Purple Sea shoreline, prohibiting water actions, reminiscent of diving, snorkelling, windsurfing and kite crusing.
Officers have additionally taken a collection of measures to guard vacationers within the city, together with the distribution of written steerage in regards to the issues swimmers and divers shouldn’t do whereas within the sea to keep away from frightening assaults from sharks.
The authorities, for instance, are advising vacationers to chorus from throwing meals or carrying perfumes whereas swimming, a city official informed Center East Eye on situation of anonymity, as a result of he was not authorised to talk to the media.
The measures additionally included the closure of the seashore the place the aforementioned assaults passed off for 3 days.
The Ministry of Atmosphere has, in the meantime, shaped a committee to research the incidents.
The committee, the ministry stated, would make a scientific research of the circumstances of the 2 assaults.
It added in a press release that the members of the committee would additionally attempt to discover the exact causes for the behaviour of the shark that carried out the assaults.
Panic amongst vacationers
The assaults on the Romanian and Austrian vacationers have brought about panic amongst holidaymakers on the Egyptian Purple Sea resorts.
A few of these with plans to spend their holidays within the Purple Sea have determined to make new preparations, particularly with Egypt additionally having fun with a protracted shoreline on the Mediterranean, the place assaults by sharks had by no means been heard of.
Egyptian pc engineer Mohamed Fouad has cancelled the reservation he made beforehand in one of many accommodations of southern Hurghada the place he would have spent the Eid al-Adha trip that begins on 8 July.
As an alternative, he booked in Marsa Matrouh, northwestern Egypt on the Mediterranean.
“An assault by a shark is the worst factor one can face throughout a trip,” Fouad informed MEE.
Concern is palpable on social media as effectively the place these with details about marine life and shark behaviour try to unfold details about learn how to act in case of an assault and learn how to forestall one.
Reviews are in the meantime rising that Egyptian lifeguards had been warned about sharks being within the water close to Sahl Hasheesh, simply minutes earlier than the Austrian vacationer was mauled to loss of life.
Nevertheless, the lifeguards had reportedly laughed off the suggestion.
Some legislators have already referred to as for extra motion from the authorities to make sure that such assaults don’t occur once more sooner or later.
“This can be a new phenomenon, which makes it needed for the authorities to take measures to guard the vacationers,” Ahmed Idriss, a member of the Committee on Tourism and Civil Aviation within the Home of Representatives (the decrease chamber of parliament), informed MEE.
“I believe we have to create buffer zones the place vacationers can swim and dive safely.”
Among the international embassies in Egypt have referred to as on their international locations’ nationals to follow warning, whereas holidaying within the Arab nation.
The Russian consulate in Hurghada referred to as on Russian vacationers to strictly abide by the ban on swimming within the areas determined by Egyptian authorities.
Not the primary
Some individuals captured the gory second of the assault on the Austrian vacationer off Sahl Hasheesh final week on movie.
Shark assaults are uncommon in Egypt, however earlier assaults that occurred prior to now decade brought about panic and made vacationers desert a number of the seashores the place these assaults occurred for days.
In December 2010, 4 vacationers had been injured after they had been attacked by a shark within the Purple Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
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In October 2020, a shark attacked a younger Ukrainian boy and an Egyptian tour information off Sharm el-Sheikh as effectively.
It occurred when a Ukrainian mom and her 12-year-old son had been snorkelling with their tour information in Ras Mohammed nationwide park.
Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada are Egypt’s high Purple Sea resorts that entice thousands and thousands of vacationers and swimming and diving lovers from all over the world.
The waters of the 2 resorts are residence to a whole lot of species of unique fish and spectacular corals.
The Hurghada city official stated shark assaults are uncommon within the resort city.
“Nevertheless, no person can predict the behaviour of the fish on the identical time,” the official stated.
However, the timing of the most recent shark assaults couldn’t be worse for Egypt and its tourism sector.
Egypt’s tourism financial system has been attempting to recover from the results the continued conflict in Ukraine.
Russia and Ukraine despatched Egypt virtually a 3rd of the vacationers visiting it in peak years, bringing in billions of {dollars} to the nationwide treasury yearly.
The worldwide financial disaster induced by the conflict can also be affecting the native tourism sector in some ways, together with by making journey the protect of the wealthy solely.
“The continuing conflict is having a heavy toll on individuals’s skill to journey exterior their international locations,” impartial tourism knowledgeable Magdi Selim informed MEE.
“The conflict is opening the door for a world financial disaster and this impacts worldwide tourism straight.”
The worldwide journey sector expects to lose billions of {dollars} this 12 months ought to the conflict in Ukraine drag on until the top of the 12 months.
Tourism is the nerve centre of the Egyptian financial system, accounting for nearly 12 % of GDP and using virtually 10 % of the nationwide workforce of 29 million.
Results from the conflict, together with on the tourism sector, are undermining the Egyptian financial system and sending Cairo scrambling for support, together with from the Worldwide Financial Fund which is contemplating a mortgage request from Cairo to assist its social safety system amid rising world meals and vitality costs.
Tourism promotion ways
Egypt has been working tooth and nail to mitigate the results of the conflict on the tourism sector by altering its tourism promotion ways.
Egyptian tourism planners at the moment are extra targeted on Western Europe, Asia and Latin America, areas they imagine haven’t felt the financial pinch from the conflict but.
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Tourism promotion methods are additionally now extra oriented in the direction of the Arab market, hoping to draw Arab vacationers who used to spend their summer season holidays in Europe.
Egypt has additionally sought alliances, together with with regional rivals, reminiscent of Turkey, to convey vacationers in.
A few of these insurance policies appear to be paying off, elevating occupancy charges at accommodations in a number of the nation’s locations, together with within the Purple Sea.
On 4 July, 68 constitution flights arrived in Hurghada, bringing in round 10,000 international vacationers to the resort city.
The promotion insurance policies adopted by tourism authorities towards the background of the conflict in Ukraine have succeeded in serving to the native tourism sector partially overcome the war-induced disaster, tourism officers stated.
“These methods are having noticeable success, however we have to keep them,” Ahmed al-Wasif, the pinnacle of the Egyptian Tourism Federation, the guild of the nation’s tour operators, informed MEE.
“The authorities additionally must ease the entry into our nation of all varieties of vacationers, which can contribute to rising arrivals.”
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