Beaches Alexandria

Mohamed Saeed, an amateur angler from Alexandria, can no longer reach large parts of Egypt’s north coast because of the expansion of tourism projects there.

Now aged 47, Saeed has noticed a decline in both the quantity and size of fish in the last few years, as the investment in tourism has grown. “There used to be so much in the sea… loads of fish and really big ones.” he says. “But these new developments have scared them away. And on top of that there’s overfishing, because there’s no supervision.”

Saeed explains: “I used to catch five or six kilos at a time, or twice that, back in 2010. But now the catch is usually no more than a kilo.” He points out the disappearance of popular species of fish like khazar and the drop in numbers of red mullet in the last ten years.

Public beaches in Egypt have shrunk considerably as tourism projects have expanded. Since 2010, the authorities in Alexandria have adopted a policy of categorising public beaches as “premium, tourist or free,” and of dividing one beach into several, to facilitate its commercial exploitation. This has led to a drop in the number of public beaches compared to private beaches, with only 20 free beaches left.

Eleven premium and eleven tourist beaches have also been put up for public auction. And three further classifications have now been added: private, public, and service upon request, according to a study by the Human and the City for Social Research in Egypt.

This report found that the seafront promenade in areas such as Sidi Bishr, Cleopatra, Sporting and Camp Chezar had been turned into cafeterias and restaurants because of a lack of supervision. Haphazard construction also took place right along the corniche between 2011 and 2019, with parts of it being converted into garages for cafes and restaurants between 2019 and 2024. In 2017, the public beach at Shatby had also been taken over to build a private garage.

The case of Alexandria shows clearly how the spread of tourism projects causes a reduction in beaches available to the general public. The number of private beaches in the governorate has increased significantly in ten years. In 2013 there were no private beaches at all, but by 2024 there were 65, and the number of beach resorts had grown to 43, according to data from Egypt's Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics.

Data collected by ARIJ shows that 78 tenders for the leasing or exploitation of beaches in Alexandria were put out between 2015 and 2024.

Our data also shows that, in 2021, the Contracts Department of the General Administration of Financial Affairs put out tenders for the exploitation of six public beaches in Alexandria or hiring of water sports equipment there.

In 2016, the Central Administration for Tourism and Resorts in Alexandria awarded a leasing contract for The Beau Rivage Tourist Beach to the Dubai Tourism Investment Company for approximately EGP 15 million ($1.7 million). It also awarded a leasing contract for Stanley Tourist Beach to the Kraash Tourism Development Company for around EGP 4 million ($450,000). Both contracts allowed for a ten percent annual increase for the next three years. The following year, the Central Administration for Tourism and Resorts in Alexandria announced an increase in beach rental rates, which were 50 percent higher on some beaches than rates for the same beaches in 2024, and 100 percent higher in some cases.

Satellite images show how, between 2013 and 2025, tourism projects have both taken over public beaches and reclaimed areas of sea. For example, the Four Seasons San Stefano Hotel now occupies the beach in front of the San Stefano Grand Plaza Tower, where a hotel owned by the Talaat Moustafa Group stands. Official statistics show that there were no private beaches in the governorate until 2013.

New tourist infrastructure has not just encroached on public beaches, but has also extended into the sea on sandbars, as is the case with the suites and beach villas belonging to the Four Seasons San Stefano Hotel.

The Glim sandbar, which was built to protect the beach from erosion, has also been turned from a coastal promenade used by everyone into restaurants and café area. The transformation of the area into a tourist project known as Glim Bay has outraged residents of Alexandria, as it was previously a “place of respite for the poor.” Not all of the buildings put up were of wood, as stipulated in the guidelines for construction in this restricted area. And some of them are more than one story.

A sandbar near the Teachers' Club beach has been turned into a restaurant and café area, while part of the sea has been filled in to allow expansion of the Golden Jewel Halls facilities, which overlook the Mediterranean. The hotel has a private beach, a water park, outdoor swimming pools and restaurants.

In Montazah, areas of trees on a promontory were removed to make way for parts of the Montazah Bay Beach in 2023. A ticket to go to the beach costs EGP 350 per person, including admission to the gardens. Private beach services have also taken over large sections of the old beach in front of the Rixos Montazah Hotel, opened in 2025. Satellite images show that part of the gardens was removed to make way for the Helnan Maamoura Hotel, built in 2022, near the distinctive Maamoura beach. A hotel swimming pool replaced the trees, which were clearly visible in satellite images from 2013.

The gardens of the Montazah Palace underwent substantial changes as part of development work costing around EGP five billion. This included construction of four artificial lakes over an area of 31,000 square meters, the Paradise tourist village, and three swimming pools covering 810 square meters. The whole project was designed to overlook the sea on three sides, with a total area of approximately 24,000 square meters.

Saeed resents the fact that those in charge of tourist sites control access to the beaches, and that café owners can bar fishermen from the corniche except in limited areas, particularly between Saba Pasha and Sidi Gaber, unless they buy a ticket or purchase a membership.

Said says, “We can’t get to San Stefano, Tolip or Mahrousa anymore because of the hotels and resorts they’ve put up there.” Entrance fees to tourist sites can be up to EGP 100, he says. “The corniche should go back to the way it was, when it belonged to all Egyptians.”