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

FILE PHOTO: An Egyptian man rides his motorbike along a road in front of a sign reading "Ras Hankorab Beach" a beach in Wadi el-Gemal National Park with crystal clear waters and white sands, home to one of the country's last untouched marine ecosystems, at southern Egypt's Red Sea coast in Marsa Alam, Egypt March 23, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

RAS HANKORAB (Reuters) - 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 el-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, and campaigners are battling to halt its development with, according to the original plans, dozens of accommodation huts, a restaurant and a farm.