DESPITE its international fame, Egypt's most thriving resort, Sharm el-Sheikh, still lacks a marina and proper facilities to stimulate diving and yacht tourism. **It is unhappy that beams are only available for tourists to reach their motorboats and yachts to practise diving and return in the end of the day. There is hardly any doubt that these beams cannot by any means cope up with hundreds of motorboats laden with tourists. In the early morning and in the evening the place is mistaken for an overcrowded local bus terminals. It is an embarrassing scene. Astonished tourists would inquire why necessary facilities, which cost a little, remain absent in this internationally-famed city. **The situation turns into a deplorable chaos when tourists are jostled by workers, pushing their way towards motorboats: workers knock diving equipment and the place becomes polluted with exhaust fumes being belched out by motorboats. **Signs of improvement are, however, visible after an ad hoc committee led by Minister of Tourism Zoheir Garranah inspected the place and realised the chaotic situation and how much inconveniences and embarrassment are caused to tourists. The committee's members included Hisham Gabr, chairman of the Diving Chamber; and representatives from the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Interior. These officials inspected the proposed location for the planned marina. They also stressed that the construction of this important facility should start as soon as possible. It should be known that recreational and diving tourism represent a two third of Egypt's tourism activities. Appreciating the importance of this kind of tourism, the Ministry of Tourism officially endorsed the Chamber of Diving and Marine Activities. Moreover, highlevel safety and security arrangements provided in the area have attracted the attention of bigger number of tourists. Decline in incidents **Thanks to big efforts jointly launched by the Ministry of Tourism and the Chamber of Diving and Marine Activities, unhappy and tragic incidents declined by 25 per cent. Moreover, from 200,000 tourists practising diving only one person (less by 16.4 people internationally) would have a tragic accident, which would lead to death. **During a visit I have recently made to Sharm el-Sheikh, I was keen to have a better understanding of safety and security arrangements the Chamber of Diving and Marine Activities have made in the area. Officials whom I met, included Osama el-Ashri, First Undersecretary of the Ministry of Tourism, who is responsible for marine and diving activities; Hisham Gabr, board chairman of the Chamber of Diving and Marine Activities; Ziyad el-Basel, the Chamber's executive manager and board member; Salah Heikal, first undersecretary of the Ministry of Tourism; Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Shebl Hegazi, adviser to the Minister of Tourism for Diving and Marine Activities; Mohamed Safyy-Eddin, general manager of the Diving Department; Abdel-Fatah el-Asi, director of the office of the Ministry of Tourism in Sharm el-Sheikh; and Maj. Gen. Hafez el-Sayed, Chief of Security Department in Sinai. New decrees **These officials agreed that diving facilities in the area should be modernised and upgraded to cope with the rapidly-developing industr in this respect. They promised that new decisions and decrees would soon be issued by the Ministry of Tourism in this regard. **Accordingly, divers will be obligatory provided with a modern compass to help rescuers quickly trace his/her location in emergency situations. **Motorboats and yachts will also have to use a modern alarming system, which covers an area of 16 km to help rescuers or helicopters intervene quickly if a yacht or a motorboat goes missing. **In the meantime, the Minister of Tourism approved a suggestion to provide the Medical Diving Centre with modern equipment to upgrade medical help and treatment to divers facing difficulties or incidents during practising these activities. International standards **The Chamber of Diving and Marine Activities has also announced carefully-proposed standards and qualifications, without which new diving centres will not be licensed. Speedboats urgently needed **The Chamber of Diving and Marine Activities, in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, should use modern speedboats to chase violators, who ignore maritime laws and cause damage to the environment. In collaboration with certain official agencies in the area, these speedboats should also be licensed to arrest illegal fishing activities, which undermine the prospects of diving tourism. **We spent two days in Sharm el- Sheikh, during which we were given an elaborate account of steps being made to upgrade diving and marine activities in Sharm el-Sheikh. We were proud that the Austria-based International Federation of Diving has decided to give the ISO certificate to the Chamber of Diving and Marine Activities in Egypt.
