While hundreds of Russians were leaving Sharm El-Sheikh, other Russians spotted in the city confirmed their plans to continue working in the resort city.
Meanwhile, waiting for their flights at Sharm El-Sheikh International Airport, two Russian tourists flying back to their country told Daily News Egypt they completed their vacation, which began a few days after the Russian plane crash. “But we will feel safer if we left,” they said.
On whether they will consider coming back to Egypt, the two Russian tourists said: “We will wait for the investigation result on the plane crash.”
Along the streets of Sharm El-Sheikh, visitors spotted were mostly Egyptians, in addition to dozens of foreign tourists.
“We feel bad that our country suspended flights to Egypt,” two Russians living in Sharm El-Sheikh said.
The two Russians said they see fewer foreigners in the city than before, stressing that they will continue working in the city despite the escalation of the events.
Another group of four Russian tourists told the Daily News Egypt that they arrived a day before Russian flights to Egypt were suspended.
“We are enjoying our time here and we will continue our vacation,” they said.
Egyptian tourists Adel El-Sawy and his wife Aya said Sharm El-Sheikh is quiet compared to last year during this time. “I never saw it as empty as it is now,” said El-Sawy, adding that Sharm El-Sheikh had always been full of Russians. “We always felt like it is their city,” he said.
Adel said he believes Egyptian tourists contribute to souvenirs shops more than foreign tourists. “We have this feeling that we want to support those sellers in order to make up for their losses,” he said.
Another two honeymooners, who were spending their third day in the city, commented that the number of tourists is much less than before, “but it is not dead”.
