Vital tourist industry faces fallout from resort blasts

MONDAY’S attacks on Dahab are expected to have an immediate impact on Egyptian tourism, which is the country’s main source of foreign exchange.

The industry brought in some €4.9bn in 2004. Resorts in Sinai, including Dahab, account for 25% of the country's hotel beds.

However, Egypt recovered quickly from last July's attacks in Sharm el-Sheik, where suicide bombers killed 64 people, mainly tourists. Within four weeks of those attacks, major hotels in Sharm were reporting occupancies of 70%.

Yesterday some tourists in Dahab said they were not deterred by the latest blasts.

A Frenchwoman who arrived hours before the blasts, Aurore Trepo, 27, said she was shocked by the attack.

"I don't want this to change my holiday plan.

"My mum wants us to go back to France, but I think we will stay."

Her boyfriend, Matthiew Leuwerf, 29, concurred, saying: "I don't want to change my plans because of terrorists."

Sinai hotels were filled yesterday with foreigners and Egyptians celebrating the long Coptic Christian Easter weekend that coincided this year with Shem al-Nessim, an ancient holiday marking the first day of spring. The attacks also came a day before another Egyptian national holiday.

Dahab, which means "gold" in Arabic, was for years a popular, low-key haven for young Western and Israeli backpackers drawn by prime scuba diving and cheap hotels. In recent years, a number of more upscale hotels have been built, including a five-star Hilton resort.

The bombings hit the town at 7.15pm local time when the streets were jammed with tourists strolling, shopping or looking for a restaurant or bar for evening festivities by the tranquil waters of the Gulf of Aqaba.

The first bomb exploded outside a seaside restaurant called Al Capone, one of the area's most popular spots. The second bomb went off outside the supermarket and the Mona Lisa jewellery store. The third detonated at the entrance of a bridge where tourists take strolls next to the sea.

Mohammed Gadallah, who works at a hotel coffee shop near the bridge bomb, said that after the explosion, he ran outside and carried a Russian boy to safety.

"The scene out there was horrific," the 27-year-old said. "Blood was everywhere. People's limbs were blown off. I don't know who could have done this they are people who know no religion and have no conscience."

Hani Sadeq, 24, who worked at the Mona Lisa store, said: "We ran toward the scene and we found people, our friends, lying on the ground. some were already dead. Some were alive, with arms broken."