Flights to Sharm were grounded after Russian Metrojet Flight 9268 was downed by terrorists shortly after take off in October 2015. All 224 people on board were killed.
British security experts oversaw £20m improvements at Sharm airport and many nations have now resumed flights to the Red Sea resort.
The UK and Russia though - Egypt’s main source of inbound tourists before the attack - have been more cautious.
Russia recently resumed flights to Cairo but is still yet to return to Sharm. At the time, Egypt said Russia’s decision sent a "very positive message" to the UK government. UK tourists can still travel to Sharm if they transit via Cairo.
However, TTG was this week told that if Russia did allow flights back to Sharm, it being a Russian flight that was attacked, this could force the UK government to reconsider its own ban.
The Egyptian State Tourist Authority (ESTA) on Tuesday (March 20) launched a new campaign to promote Hurghada in the UK, with a return to Sharm in the near future looking increasingly unlikely.
Egypt believes Hurghada and other Red Sea resorts such as Marsa Alam and Luxor can fill the void left by Sharm and eventually replace it in the hearts and minds of UK tourists.
“Our strategy in the UK is to focus on Hurghada,” said ESTA director UK and Ireland Amr El Ezabi.
“It can replace Sharm no problem. Sharm is Egypt for many people in the UK - we will try to do this with Hurghada and Marsa Alam."
UK arrivals in Egypt were up 38.1% on 2016 to 319,000 in 2017, El Ezabi revealed, and are up 39.1% (61,481) to the end of February this year.
