History of Na'ama Bay

Na'ama Bay was not always a tourist location, once an isolated bay north of the Sharm el-Sheikh which itself was just a base for fishermen, while the only permanent village was at Nabk in the north.

During the Israeli occupation of Sainai the area was developed with then creation of the town of Ofira which was occupied until the 1982 withdrawal.

The facilities and infrastructure that had been developed were not wasted and formed the basis of much of what is now the Na'ama Bay area.  For example the present Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport, which is actually adjacent to Na'ama Bay, was once the military airstrip servicing Ofira.

Held by Israel during the Suez Crisis and again from 1967 after the six day war until 1982 the local population is familiar with the changing circumstances are are not fazed by modern changes.

Today the invaders are more welcomed as they are tourists from Europe, UK and Russia who come to enjoy the amazing location and to spend their welcomed money on the local economy.

Since 1982 the Egyptian government has encouraged development and building has continued, environmental zoning laws prevent destruction of the local habitats are cultural views.

However in 2005 a terrorist attack in the nearby city aimed at damaging the tourism industry temporarily halted development.

Since then major international and regional conferences have been hosted in the area including the World Economic Forum in 2006 and 2008 and this has helped to bolster the reputation of the area as well as security.