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Sharm-el-Sheikh goes green

Monday, February 08, 2010

Catherine Deshayes

In a bid to entice the ever-increasing number of eco-tourists, the Egyptian holiday resort of Sharm- el-Sheikh intends to slash its carbon emissions in the next decade, becoming entirely carbon-neutral by 2020...

According to a senior Government official who is heading up the £133 million project, Sharm-el-Sheikh intends to position itself as a prime destination for eco-tourists in the next decade.

Tourism is a crucial source of foreign currency and jobs in Egypt, accounting for about 11 per cent of GDP, so it is essential that the country makes the right moves to offer visitors what they want. And what people want, it seems, is an eco-friendly holiday.

Hisham Zaazou, a top official at the Tourism Ministry says, "Tourists will pick places that are environmentally friendly and taking positive steps to reduce their carbon emissions."

The resort of Sharm-el-Sheikh is already a key player in Egypt's tourism industry, attracting three to four million of the 12 million tourists who visited Egypt last year. They adore the stunning beaches and diving the resort offers.

Experts have welcomed the green plans, which include introducing renewable energy schemes such as solar power, cutting water use, improving waste management and bringing in diving restrictions to try and protect the delicate coral reefs.

But, they believe that the Government should also be enforcing existing environmental rules in the Red Sea resort of 62,000 hotel rooms, where dust from frantic coastal construction has been blamed for damaging prize coral reefs.

It's not just Sharm-el-Sheikh that is set to benefit from these eco plans. Hisham Zaazou says, "Sharm is a laboratory and once it succeeds, we will replicate the project elsewhere."

Work on the green initiative starts this month and six small projects should be completed by the end of this year.

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Picture by rgvmonster