This is why you should be diving in Sharm el-Sheikh in 2020

Regarded as one of the world’s best diving locations, Sharm el-Sheikh once enjoyed a booming marine tourism industry. In 2008, numbers were at their peak, with around 100,000 divers certified each year.

According to specialists from PADI (Professional Association Of Diving Instructors), next year could be the best time to visit, and give the industry a much-needed boost.

“It’s much cleaner for a start and we have more species than we did before. For example, we hardly heard of whale sharks in Sharm and now we see them almost weekly. There are more dolphins and the reef is a lot more colourful.”

Committed to maintaining the health of the Red Sea, authorities have also introduced new regulations allowing only certified divers to go out on boat dives and restricting learner and ‘try’ divers to the shore.

Yet this is still one of the best places to learn to dive.

“Visibility is consistently good and there is always clear water,” says Jonas Samuelsson, PADI EMEA territory director. “The water temperature is warm and there’s not really any current. Add that to the number of very experienced instructors, who are now returning, and it’s a brilliant place to learn.”

Price, too, is likely to draw in tourists. Discounting by dive centres and hotels is also likely to continue in 2020.

The main appeal, however, is the destination itself, which will be much easier to reach.

As Sayed says: “People come here for Ras Mohammad National Park and the wrecks. We have some of the best diving in the world.”

For more information on learning to dive, visit padi.com