Sharm’s hottest zones after Gulf Egypt’s EGP 20bn launch
Why Gulf Egypt’s new Sharm project matters now
Sharm El Sheikh has had no shortage of big-ticket tourism announcements over the years, but Gulf Egypt for Hotels and Tourism’s latest one stands out for scale, location logic and timing. The company, a subsidiary of United Real Estate Company, said it is launching an integrated lifestyle hospitality destination in Sharm El Sheikh with planned investments exceeding EGP 20 billion. Reported details put the scheme at roughly 354,458 square metres, with nearly 750 metres of natural sandy beachfront and a site only minutes from Sharm El Sheikh International Airport and close to the city’s conference and events facilities.
Those specifics matter because they point to a development designed not as an isolated resort compound, but as a project that can feed surrounding commercial zones, restaurant clusters and evening destinations across the city. In a tourism market where guests increasingly divide their spend between hotel grounds and nearby districts, the areas that combine beach access, walkable dining and established nightlife are best placed to benefit.
The strongest likely winner: Naama Bay
If one area looks best positioned to capture spillover footfall, it is Naama Bay. South Sinai’s official directory lists Naama Bay as one of Sharm El Sheikh’s core tourism areas, while the official visitor portal for Sharm presents it as the city’s classic promenade for beach life and nightlife. Experience Egypt likewise describes Naama Bay as the bustling centre of Sharm El Sheikh and the place “where it all began”.
That matters because Naama Bay already has the urban form most likely to absorb new demand quickly: a dense concentration of hotels, beachfront access, cafés, casual dining, bazaars and branded nightlife. Rather than needing an entirely new consumer ecosystem, it already functions as one. Visitors staying in a new airport-proximate beachfront development could still choose Naama Bay for a change of scene, especially in the evening when a walkable strip becomes more valuable than a self-contained resort.
Real operators underline that depth. Hard Rock Cafe remains on Naama Bay, while restaurant names visible in the area include Mahony and Fairuz, both operating from the bay district. For Egyptian travellers, that mix is important: Naama Bay still offers the broadest all-evening circuit in Sharm for groups with different budgets, from coffee and shisha to seafood, Lebanese dining and late-night entertainment.
Why Naama could gain first
- It is already Sharm’s best-known promenade for tourists who want to leave the hotel and walk.
- Its restaurant stock is diversified, which helps it benefit from any rise in visitor numbers without waiting for new openings.
- It suits mixed itineraries: beach by day, dinner and browsing by night.
SOHO Square and White Knight Bay: best placed for premium evening spend
If Naama Bay is the broadest winner, SOHO Square and the White Knight Bay area may be the most obvious beneficiaries for higher-spending evening traffic. SOHO Square describes itself as being located in White Knight Bay, between the Savoy, Royal Savoy, Sierra and Grand Oasis hotels, and as the beating heart of Sharm El Sheikh’s nightlife and leisure scene. The official Sharm visitor portal similarly frames SOHO Square as the city’s entertainment, dining and family-night hub.
That positioning matters because Gulf Egypt’s project is being marketed as an integrated lifestyle destination rather than a simple room-count expansion. The moment a development uses words like wellness, entertainment and leisure, it starts competing and collaborating with nearby districts that already do those jobs well. SOHO Square is one of the few places in Sharm with a ready-made night economy, event programming and a polished public-facing entertainment identity.
Its current events calendar shows that it is still being actively programmed, including summer entertainment listings in 2026. For local coverage and SEO around where to go in Sinai, that makes SOHO Square especially relevant: it is not only a place to eat, but a place with recurring reasons to visit after dinner.
Who benefits around SOHO
- White Knight Bay hotels and beach operators that can market easy access to SOHO’s dining and shows.
- Upscale restaurants and cafés in the square that capture visitors wanting a more curated night out than a standard resort buffet.
- Family-friendly entertainment venues that appeal to Gulf, Egyptian and European holiday segments alike.
Shark’s Bay: the practical beach-side gainer
Just behind Naama and SOHO in likely upside is Shark’s Bay. The official Sharm visitor portal highlights Shark’s Bay for clear water, resorts and easy reef access, while SOHO’s White Knight Bay position effectively strengthens the wider airport-side coastal belt. This is where the logic of the new project becomes especially interesting: a large beachfront scheme close to the airport can increase the commercial gravity of neighbouring beach zones even when visitors never travel far across town.
For beach clubs, dive operators, hotel restaurants and transfer-friendly dining spots, proximity alone is an advantage. Shorter travel times matter in Sharm, particularly for weekenders from Cairo, families with children and conference attendees extending a stay by one or two nights. If the new Gulf Egypt project succeeds in raising occupancy in the airport-facing side of the city, Shark’s Bay is one of the first nearby districts likely to feel the uplift.
Nabq Bay: strongest upside for resort-linked dining and new openings
Nabq Bay should also be on the watchlist. Official hotel material for Rixos Radamis places that resort in Nabq Bay, and the property’s fact sheet puts it about 6 km from Sharm El Sheikh International Airport and 17 km from Naama Bay. That says two things. First, the airport side of Sharm is already deepening as a hospitality cluster. Second, any major new beachfront investment in the same broad corridor can help normalize guest movement within the eastern and northeastern belts of the city rather than concentrating all off-resort spend in Naama.
Nabq still lacks the iconic promenade recognition of Naama Bay, but it is well placed for growth in destination dining, branded cafés and resort-adjacent nightlife. In practical terms, that means the biggest winners may not be legacy independent strips alone, but also the next wave of openings that arrive once investors see confidence returning to the wider area.
Old Market benefits differently
Old Market is less likely than Naama or SOHO to capture premium nightlife spend, but it can benefit from a different kind of traffic. South Sinai’s official directory lists Old Market among Sharm’s core visitor areas, while the official Sharm portal presents it as a zone for local flavours, crafts and evening atmosphere. Green Sharm also promotes it as a place to experience the city’s culture and heritage.
That makes Old Market a likely secondary beneficiary for visitors seeking a more recognisably Egyptian outing beyond resort grounds. For Egypt-based readers planning a Sharm weekend, it remains one of the easiest places to pair with dinner, souvenir shopping and a casual night walk.
The bottom line for where to eat and where to go
Based on the details publicly reported so far, the nearby Sharm zones most likely to benefit from Gulf Egypt’s EGP 20 billion, 354,458-sqm beachfront development are, in order, Naama Bay, SOHO Square-White Knight Bay, Shark’s Bay, Nabq Bay and then Old Market. Naama Bay has the strongest all-round advantage because it already combines beach culture, dining density and nightlife familiarity. SOHO Square is best positioned for premium evening spend and event-led footfall. Shark’s Bay and Nabq Bay stand to gain from geography, airport proximity and the steady expansion of Sharm’s resort corridor. Old Market should benefit as the city’s more traditional evening detour.
For anyone watching Sinai’s food-and-go scene area by area, the real takeaway is simple: if this project moves from announcement to execution at the scale described, it will not only add keys and beachfront inventory. It could redraw where visitors in Sharm choose to dine, stroll and spend after sunset.