SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt: The percentage of occupancy in hotels in Sharm El-Sheikh risen despite the continued absence of domestic and Arab tourism to the city because of the holy Islamic month of Ramadan. The President of the Tourism Promotion Authority, Salim Saleh, said the city attracted an increase in tourists and hotel occupancy up to 58 percent in South Sinai in general. There has been an increase in Sharm el-Sheikh in particular in numbers of Russian, British and Italian tourists. Minister of Finance Hazem al-Beblawy said hotel occupancy in Sharm el-Shiekh reached 80 percent. The upcoming period will witness a higher percentage of occupancy due to the return of stability and calm to Sharm el-Shaikh after the departure of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak from Sharm el Sheikh international hospital, Saleh said.
