Thursday March 28th, 2024
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Egyptian Ministry of Tourism Halts Diving and Water Sport Licenses

Many speculate it's to help with conservation.

Staff Writer

The Ministry of Tourism has announced that it will no longer be considering applications for new diving and water sports centres, as well as safari yachts in the Red Sea and South Sinai area for a period of one year. The news came through the Ministerial Resolution No. 617 of 2019, released by the official Egyptian Gazette, earlier this week.

This freeze is not applicable to diving and water sports centres that have applied for licensing prior to the date of the resolution.

Akhbar Al Yom alleges that the reason for this hiatus is that the Red Sea has reached its maximum capacity in terms of dives and water sport activities. It is also believed that exceeding this capacity will result in damage to coral reefs and marine life, according to various marine research centres.