Security Expert Highlights Security Issues For Tourists To Sharm El Sheikh Egypt

Dr. Mark D. Yates The British American Security Expert advises the popularity of tourist destinations in Egypt is increasing at an unprecedented rate. British tourists are now referring to Sharm El Sheikh as the new Benidorm. Of course this will be viewed negatively by a mainstream audience, given the fact that Benidorm’s reputation as a beautiful Spanish Costa was destroyed by hordes of British binge drinkers seduced by the low cost package holidays offered by travel agencies.

This destruction of a tourist resorts reputation spread globally from Benidorm to Ibiza, to Ayia Napa as low cost airlines created cheaper package holidays. Once a tourist resorts reputation is tarnished, it’s virtually impossible to claw it back and resorts like the three mentioned are destined to lose mainstream tourists who avoid their resorts like the plague because of binge drinking louts, who like Vampires only appear at dark and then sneak off to bed just before sunset.

Egypt is just 6 hours flying time from the UK. This coupled with all year round sunshine has attracted large tour operators to offer low cost holidays. Many of these holidays are all inclusive deals. The Egyptian tourist board are obviously keen to attract high volumes of tourists and brand new resorts like Sharm El Sheikh are experiencing a construction boom to cater for this huge influx of foreign tourists. It’s De Ja Vue Benidorm all over again and the phrase ‘build it and they will come’ springs to mind.

Unlike the Spanish Costas Sharm El Sheikh has a controlled plan for construction and you do not see masses of high rise low budget hotels and apartment blocks under construction. It appears to be much more controlled with emphasis on low rise buildings of one to two stories.

Tourists used to travelling into European resorts should understand that travelling into Egypt is a completely different matter. For example the cultural and security implications are completely different and it is advisable to spend a little bit of time researching these topics.

Business travellers should also be security conscious as western business executives are prime targets for kidnap for ransom. You can obtain top quality business advice from www.businessconsultancyonestopshop.com Egypt is divided by a population of approximately 85% Muslims and 15% Christians. Currently harmony prevails but tourists are advised that simple things that we take for granted in Europe can be most offensive to Egyptians.

Security begins at home, so the first thing you should do is visit your doctor and have all the recommended medical injections. Don’t leave this too late as some injections require a booster 2 or three weeks after the fist injection.
Before you leave home visit the UK’s largest e-tailer of security products and services at www.asecurityonestopshop.com you will find every thing necessary to minimise security issues for tourists travelling into holiday destinations like Sharm El Sheikh Egypt.

If you intend travelling in and around Egypt you will require a visa. This can be obtained at the visa desk in the airport. I watched recently as hundreds of tourists queued up for several hours in the most disorganised fashion to obtain their visa at the airport. Employing a professional security consultant at this airport would go a long way to improving security for tourists.
The airport at Sharma El Sheikh although modern, falls well below the security standards required in Western European airports. Chaos reins and the word organisation has obviously been deleted from the Egyptian Aviation Authority dictionary. Police and security officers both inside and outside the airport are scarce. Those officers on duty appear completely disinterested and I witnessed several non malicious security breaches.

Security X-ray machine security staff were less than vigilant which caused me grave concerns given the geographical location of Egypt and it’s close proximity to other Middle Eastern terrorist hot spots. Considering Sharm El Sheikh is located in the Sinai Desert which has been a war zone for various conflicts with Israel I formed the opinion that airport security was largely reactive and not proactive as it should be.

Once through the airport chaos most tourists are whisked away in tour buses by their tour companies. Many of the hotels in Sharm El Sheikh are located away from major areas and as such completely isolated. This means you have to take a taxi to get into locations where the action is. From a security perspective Dr. Mark D. Yates the British American Security Expert from www.asecurityonestopshop.com strongly advises you to stick with official taxis only. It is difficult when 95% of the taxis are unofficial taxis operated by untrained and unlicensed drivers. These drivers are very aggressive and extremely proactive when touting for business. I walked half a mile in a semi deserted location and was stopped by over 25 unofficial taxi drivers. They blare their horn at you and then cruise alongside you trying to coax you into their car. For most people this is intimidating and I spoke to several female tourists travelling alone who expressed grave security concerns regarding these taxi drivers.

When considering a Security Expert Highlights Security Issues for Tourists to Sharm El Sheikh Egypt it is worth mentioning that female tourists travelling alone is not uncommon these days, however this does present its own security concerns. Any good security consultant will advise wherever possible to share a taxi with another guest from your hotel to minimise your security risk.

One of the next security Issues For Tourists To Egypt is gift shopping in some of these new tourist resorts. At your tourist welcoming party your tour representative will give a brief discussion on how shop owners will entice you into their shop and then lock the doors to prevent you leaving. I discussed this with several groups of tourists who personally experienced this and every one of them stated it was a very intimidating experience. Shop owners only let you leave when you have bought something. This experience is termed ‘hassling customers’ and appears acceptable to Egyptians. However this is alien to western Europeans.

Dr. Mark D. Yates The British American Security Expert who Highlights Security Issues For Tourists To Sharm El Sheikh Egypt suggests the following. Local shop owners are known to use these intimidating tactics mostly on prospective shop customers who they have invested time in verbally coaxing into their shop. Think of it as sexual foreplay and spending money in their shop as the sexual encounter. The shop owners believe one act should automatically follow the other. It’s far better to dismiss the shop owner’s requests to talk to them outside and only venture into the shop of your own volition.

Security at most hotels is far from perfect. For example I stayed in a modern hotel which had access control gates staffed by a security guard and a fixed airport style metal detector cage staffed by an armed security guard directly outside the hotel entrance doors. Every item of luggage was supposed to be passed through this modern metal detector; however I never once saw a single bag going through it. In fact I never once saw an adult walk through it and be security checked. The kids loved the metal detectors and constantly ran through them for fun which probably explains why the officer switched off the audible alarm.
Interestingly I walked through the metal detectors with a metal can in my pocket and the machine never detected it. Most hotels have access control gates; however few of them would counter a determined car bomber. A number of the hotels also have armed guards positioned outside. The ones I witnessed were clearly not at the top of their game in fact most of them were struggling under the intense heat, so much so that their AK47’s were not hand held, but placed out of reach hidden under a table or behind their sentry box.

Dr. Mark D. Yates The British American Security Expert who Highlights Security Issues For Tourists To Sharm El Sheikh Egypt strongly suggests every tourist or family visiting Egypt should pay for a safety deposit box in their hotel room if the hotel doesn’t provide one free of charge. Tourist resorts’ employ large numbers of casual or transient workers for room cleaning, hotel and grounds upkeep. Add to the fact that these and occasionally fellow tourists are often presented with opportunities to steal then you begin to see the relevance of a safety deposit box. There is no such concept as 100% security, so every security consultant will advise you to only leave non essential items in your room safety deposit box. If you have lots of cash or other valuables then ask the hotel manager for access to the hotel main safe. we also advises you to only carry enough money to get you through the day.

Think carefully about when a British airport check in clerk or security officer ask you the standard security questions, i.e. “have you packed your bags yourself and have the bags been in your possession since you packed them.” Typically we would provide an emphatic yes. However in Egypt bell boys are dispatched to pick up your bags from your rooms and they are then typically left inside or outside the hotel foyer for several hours. Anyone can access these bags and it would be so easy to plant something inside any of the bags including an improvised explosive device or drugs.

If you want sun, sand and excursions then Egypt, especially Sharm El Sheikh offers you a fantastic holiday. By implementing a few basic security and personal protection strategies you will experience a memorable holiday.

Finally Dr. Mark D. Yates The British American Security Expert who Highlights Security Issues For Tourists To Sharm El Sheikh Egypt advises all tourists to visit the our homepage for security updates on tourist destinations. Contact Dr. Mark D. Yates at drmarkdyates@aol.com