Recent shark attacks in resort city of Sharm al-Sheikh have deeply affected Egypt’s tourism sector, according to Nadezhda Nazina, Russian Deputy Minister of Sports, Tourism and Youth Policy.
“The swifter the Egyptian government solves the problem and provides security at beaches, the fewer the tourists that will refrain from traveling to Egypt,” Nazina said.
Sharm el-Sheikh witnessed four shark attacks last week that resulted in seriously injuring three Russians and a Ukrainian. The most recent attack occurred on 4 December when a shark attacked and killed a 70-year-old female German tourist.
Russian tourists constitute 25.3 percent of the total number of tourists to Egypt.
Egypt received more than 2 million Russian tourists total in 2009, a jump of 11.5 percent from 2008.
