Russian tourists flock back to Egypt’s Red Sea,Tourists flock back Red Sea
Copyright © www.africanews24.digital with AFP
Mussa al-Nahas sat outside his fragrance and spice shop overlooking the Red Sea beaming at the sight of Russian tourists, who are beginning to flood back to Sharm el-Sheikh six years after a terror attack.
“Today is much, much better than three or four months ago because the Russians are back,” he told AFP.
“The return of Russian flights has spurred other countries to also open up,” he added.
Nahas, 42, has spent half of his life in the idyllic, sun-drenched Red Sea resort which was badly hit economically after the 2015 downing of a Metrojet plane that killed 224 mostly Russian passengers.
The attack was claimed by the so-called Islamic State jihadist group, which has a presence in the restive North Sinai region.
In the wake of the crash, Russia instituted a blanket ban on all flights to the Red Sea from 2015, and even to Cairo for a few weeks.The arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 was a double blow driving away the remaining tourists — the country’s lifeline.
Tourism represents about 10 percent of the GDP of Egypt where a third of the 100 million-strong population lives below the poverty line.
“We used to say that Sharm el-Sheikh had become a ghost town,” said Nahas.
But in August, the fortunes of Sharm — as it is affectionately known — started to look up when the first plane from Moscow touched back down at the local airport.
After years of diplomacy, the long-running ban was finally lifted.
– ‘Like things used to be’ –
– ‘We’ve missed it a lot’ –
Russian tourists have also been lining up for Sharm’s marine activities from snorkeling and diving to jet-skiing.
Standing on the deck of a boat, Alexei Volnyago, 35, extolled: “We don’t have seas like this in Russia… It’s spectacular over here.”
“We haven’t been to Sharm in five years… we’ve missed it a lot.”
At a major shopping centre, another Russian tourist named Alexei was busy picking out juicy, ripe mangoes — a delicacy to savour in hot Egyptian climes.
“Prices are pretty good… and the people are kind,” he told AFP, strolling the aisles.
Shopkeeper Nahas recalled his Russian doctor friend who for 11 years spent six months annually in Sharm. “We used to call him Alexei the Sharmawi,” Nahas said.
“As soon as flights were back in the air, he also came back.”
Copyright © www.africanews24.digital with AFP
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