Tourism Impact on Marine Ecosystems in the North of Red Sea

Abstract

The unique marine environment of the northern Red Sea region is among the richest and most productive marine ecosystems in the world. The sea is populated with extensive algae blooms and at least five types of coral reefs. However, the region’s tourism sector is largely dependent on the surrounding environment, including the coral reefs, which are highly sensitive to human activities. A large tourist project (Neom) is scheduled to be installed in the northern Red Sea, further increasing tourist activities in the area and leading to human intrusion into crucial but fragile marine habitats such as seagrass beds, coral reefs and mangrove stands. The present study investigates how human activities are currently affecting Red Sea ecosystems. Field visits were done in order to investigate and to study human activities impact on marine ecosystems in the north of Red Sea. To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first of its kind to evaluate the impact of tourism on marine ecosystems in Saudi Arabia’s northern Red Sea coast.