[2] Today, the city and holiday resort is a significant centre for tourism in Egypt, while also attracting many international conferences and diplomatic meetings.

The English name of Sharm El Sheikh is a borrowing of the Egyptian Arabic "شرم الشيخ", šarm aš-šayḵ and, as such, does not have a fixed romanisation.

A United Nations peacekeeping force was stationed there until 1967 when it was ordered to leave by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, a fact that precipitated the Six-Day War during which it was reoccupied by Israel.

The city is now an international tourist destination, and environmental zoning laws limit the height of buildings to avoid obscuring the natural beauty of the surroundings.

[citation needed] A hierarchical planning approach was adopted for the Gulf of Aqaba, whereby the area's components were evaluated and subdivided into zones, cities and centers.

In accordance with this approach, the Gulf of Aqaba zone was subdivided into four cities: Taba, Nuweiba, Dahab and Sharm El Sheikh.

[10][11][12] In 2005, the resort was hit by the Sharm El Sheikh terrorist attacks, which were carried out by an extremist Islamist organisation targeting Egypt's tourist industry.

The city has played host to a number of important Middle Eastern peace conferences, including the 4 September 1999 agreement to establish Palestinian self-rule over the Gaza Strip.

[20] Marsa Alam, Kosseir and Sharm El Sheikh have the warmest winter night temperatures of cities and resorts in Egypt.

[citation needed] These natural resources, together with its proximity to tourist markets in Europe, have stimulated rapid growth in tourism in the region.

International hotel companies that currently operate in the city include Accor (Mövenpick, Novotel, Rixos), Deutsche Hospitality (Steigenberger), Four Seasons, Hilton (DoubleTree), Marriott (Renaissance, Sheraton), and Rotana, with categories of three to five stars.

The four-star Aqua Blu Sharm Resort was built on the Ras Om El Seid, with an area of 133,905 square metres (1,441,340 sq ft).

There are a number of international hotels and restaurants in the centre of Sharm, in the area known as Naama Bay, with golf courses and other leisure facilities further up the coast.

[35] These suspensions were gradually lifted as the security situation improved, with the UK government ending its ban on direct flights on 22 October 2019.

[citation needed] Ras Muhammad National Park is located at the southernmost tip of the Sinai Peninsula where the waters of the Red Sea and Gulf of Suez meet, producing strong currents and providing a habitat for diverse marine life.

The Egyptian authorities claimed that the shark responsible for the attacks had been captured alive, but the identification was disputed by the diving industry, based on eyewitness and photographic evidence.