Red Sea resorts in Egypt are seeing an increase in visitors as divers begin flocking back to the region to enjoy their underwater adventures.
One of the top locations for scuba diving holidays is Dahab on the Sinai Peninsula and the coastal town is attracting many visitors who are keen to escape the countrys cities and political unrest.
Since the beginning of Egypts revolution last year, the country has seen a decline in tourists as many people avoided travelling during the violent protests that led to the overthrow of President Mubarak.
Mahmoud Aouda, a local dive instructor in Dahab said that work has declined over the last eighteen months despite the recent increase of holidaymakers.
We are still working and people are coming. The Red Sea attracts people from the whole world. Americans, Europeans, Asians are still coming. Work is still good, but not like before the Revolution. Work has slowed down at about 50 to 60 percent, he explained.
Dahab is one of leading scuba diving destinations alongside Sharm el Sheikh and Hurghada, and the coastal town boasts clear ocean waters, fantastic diving sites such as the Canyon, and an array of marine species and stunning reefs that can be found close to the shoreline.
Frank Vahrenhorst, a scuba diving organiser at the H20 Dive Centre in Dahab, commented: Even the courses here are very nice to do here because the visibility is very good. Theres hardly any current and basically we have swimming pool like conditions and the marine life here is absolutely stunning.
While scuba diving in the Red Sea, divers can explore colourful coral reefs, sunken wrecks, and swim alongside exquisite marine creatures such as clownfish, lionfish, giant moray eels, barracuda, octopus, hermit crabs, dugongs, green turtles, dolphins and sharks.
Situated 600 km from Cairo, Dahab has always been a favourite destination for scuba diving holidays and the town is surrounded by stretches of golden sand beaches. The waters near Dahab are home to “The World’s Most Dangerous Diving Site”, The Blue Hole, and travellers from all over the world enjoy scuba diving adventures in the Sinai Peninsula every year.
One advantage to the decline in scuba diving visitors over the past year is that the regions delicate coral reef has had the opportunity to recover from human disturbance and as a result more fish can be spotted in the ocean waters.