'Sinai is Safe' campaign launched to help boost tourist numbers

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• published: 03 Aug 2015
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The number of tourists visiting Egypt's Sinai region have fallen once again - as militants wage war against government security forces. Now efforts are underway to try and bring visitors back to the area. Their message is clear. Backed by campaign group "Sinai is Safe," 60 walkers are embarking on a two-day trek to the top of Mount Abbas, which looks out over Egypt's southern stretch of land. They want to show that it's a safe place to visit - despite an ongoing militant campaign north of the tourist destinations. That hasn't bothered Mary Girgis from Cairo. ''I came because I love the Sinai and I love hiking and I wanted to see this part of Egypt. Some people were worried about me, saying why are you going there, you're crazy. But I said no, Sinai is the most beautiful place, we have to go, if we (Egyptians) don't go then who will go? So I came,'' says Mary. The most recent attack - in which 33 security personnel died near Al Arish on 24 October - prompted the government to declare a three-month state of emergency in parts of northern Sinai. It's left many tourists - both Egyptian and foreign - wary of visiting the once busy tourist sites of South Sinai that include the World Heritage site and national park, St Katherine Protectorate. The 4,350 square metre protectorate was established in 1996 and boasts a wealth of historical sites sacred to Islam, Christianity and Judaism including the St Katherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai and the Rock of Moses. It's also more than 210 miles (350 kilometres) south of last month's attack - with local guides arguing it's completely safe for visitors. ''We want to tell everyone not to be afraid, come and see for yourself," says Sheikh Ahmed, a Bedouin Mountain Guide from the Jabaleya Tribe. "We guarantee the safety of everyone in this area. We the tribes of St Katherine's and South Sinai guarantee the safety and security of everyone here. Any person, especially Europeans or Americans and other nationalities should come and see the place for themselves. This place is safe, nothing happens here.'' But violence has reached further south. In February this year, an attack on a South Korean tourist bus near Taba killed two South Koreans and their Egyptian driver. And as a consequence fifteen European countries issued a travel warning covering the entire Sinai Peninsula. That, coupled with a serious drop-off in the number of people visiting Egypt since the 2011 revolution, has hit the country's tourism industry hard. More than 14.7 million tourists visited Egypt in 2010, dropping to 9.8 million in 2011 and shrinking again to 9.5 million last year. It's also done nothing to help Egypt's battered economy. According to government figures, tourism contributes 11.3 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 14.4 percent of foreign currency revenues to the country's economy. "We are facing challenges ahead. We have a war on terrorism. However the market (international tourism market) indeed wants Egypt back (on the tourism map). People wanted to come to Egypt for the last four years and eventually tourists will come back to Egypt," says Walid El Batouty, from the World Federation of Tourists Guide Associations. He continues: "South of Sinai is completely safe. The government were very successful in getting the native bedouins in South Sinai to share with the government in securing tourism. They had a mutual interest in securing tourism. But in the north of Sinai, we never had tourists going to El Arish (North Sinai) and it was never on our tourism map. The government had plans to develop North Sinai. However these development plans now will stop for some time." St Katherine's has been particularly hard hit by the tourism crisis. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/39728bbd0eefe87cfd751e7776fba86f Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork