Egypt’s tourism push puts pristine Red Sea beach at risk, say environmentalists

Ras Hankorab Beach, a pristine spot on southern Egypt’s Red Sea coast with crystal clear waters and flat white sands, is the jewel of Egypt’s Wadi Al-Gemal National Park, home to one of the country’s last untouched marine ecosystems.

Today, the beach, a 90-minute drive from Marsa Alam international airport, and a four-hour drive from the huge, fast-growing resort of Hurghada, is closed off by a wooden fence, Reuters has reported. Campaigners are battling to halt its development with, according to the original plans, dozens of accommodation huts, a restaurant and a farm.

Conservationists warn that a fragile ecosystem supporting turtles, the coral reef, sea grasses and myriad species of fish is under threat. Locals fear losing a precious natural resource forever.

Fighting an economic crisis, Egypt has been selling investment licences in its national parks to developers in the hope of raising income. Projects vary in size and scope.

Tourism is one of the most important pillars of the Egyptian economy. A recent UN tourism report estimated Egypt’s annual tourism revenue at $14.1 billion in 2024, more than double the revenue from the Suez Canal.

With 17 million visitors in 2024, an annual increase of 17 per cent, Egypt sees the potential to boost numbers with more infrastructure, air connectivity and sustainable, coastal and desert-focused holidays. By way of comparison, Turkiye had 62 million tourists in 2024, Greece 35 million and Dubai 18.7 million.

Environmentalists and local communities warn that even light construction on the beach at Ras Hankorab would destroy one of Egypt’s last untouched marine sanctuaries. According to Asmaa Ali, executive director of Ecoris, an Egyptian sustainable development and conservation group, the national park and beach is one of the world’s most important spots for biodiversity.

“It has one of the most precious coral reefs, located at the reserve’s beach,” she said. “It also has sea turtles at risk of extinction, it has mangrove trees.”

Sherif Baha Al-Din, a co-founder of Wadi Al-Gemal national park, said tourists seek unspoiled nature, not concrete resorts.

“The more development on the Red Sea coast, the more important it becomes to leave this small part untouched,” he explained. “If we must develop, let’s talk about where. But the best thing to build here is nothing at all.”

The Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA) NGO noted that the reef is so significant because it is one of the world’s most tolerant of climate change and has the potential to repopulate other reefs and even bring back some from extinction.

Over the past decade, changes to the law have allowed spots within Egypt’s national parks to be used for commercial projects. Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad said that projects within protected areas including national parks surged from 10 in 2016 to 150 in 2024, with revenue increasing by 1,900 per cent.

Egypt’s Environmental Affairs Agency initially offered the operation of Ras Hankorab for tourism use to investors, albeit under strict conditions. However, responsibility has now moved to a government fund, the minister said in a recent presentation on Wadi Al-Gemal. She declined to comment further.

Worried conservationist groups have filed an appeal with a state prosecutor, alleging that development is not meeting protection laws and would damage a public resource.

Meanwhile, locals say that they have been side-lined. Many once made a living from low-key eco-tourism but are now effectively barred from the beach.

“I used to take my kids there for free. Now, I have to pay 250 Egyptian pounds [$5] just to enter,” said Mohamed Saleh, a tribal elder. “They didn’t consult us. They didn’t hire us. They just took over our land.”

Fouad and other Egyptian officials argue that eco-tourism and investment can coexist. She defended development of the beach and Wadi Al-Gemal as a “controlled expansion”, ensuring sustainability while attracting revenue.

Her ministry will monitor and evaluate the proposed projects in sensitive areas, including Ras Hankorab, Ras Boghdady and the world-renowned diving spot the Blue Hole, she insisted. However, critics see the ministry as lacking the resources for that.

Egypt has lost environmental expertise due to low wages and limited resources, claim conservationists. In 2007, Wadi Al-Gemal had 20 wildlife specialists monitoring biodiversity. Today, there are only a handful, said an NGO member.

The Environment Ministry and the State Information Service did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

“This [development] completely undermines the idea of eco-tourism. How does handing over protected land to private investors align with conservation?” asked environmental lawyer Ahmed Al-Seidi. “The state is obliged to protect its natural resources and to protect the rights of future generations in these resources.”

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