El Gouna Red Sea is sharpening its position as a fully integrated coastal town, combining real estate, hospitality, placemaking and town management under a long-term community model. Since 2022, the destination has expanded its residential offering, launched new business and startup hubs, and deepened its appeal to international buyers, with strong demand from overseas markets including the UAE. Alongside premium developments such as North Bay and Fanadir Shores, El Gouna continues to emphasise sustainability, year-round tourism and quality of life as core drivers of value. In this interview, Mohamed Amer, CEO of El Gouna Red Sea, outlines its strategy to grow as an international lifestyle and investment destination. 

Q: What key decisions have you made since your appointment in 2022? 

Mohamed Amer, CEO: El Gouna has stayed true to one vision since its inception 35 years ago: creating international, vibrant and sustainable communities that inspire people to live life as it should be and foster a sense of belonging. 

What evolves is how we deliver on that mission. Over the past three and a half years, we have focused on customer experience, belonging, sustainability, increasing the number of permanent residents, now standing at 25,000, and strengthening our international character. 

We have expanded El Gouna as a place to work by launching G– Valley, our startup and SME hub, and El Gouna Business Park, a financial-district-style development focused on banking and complementary businesses. We also launched a new customer experience platform and deployed a quality team for quality assurance and quality control across real estate, town management and everything we do. 

We introduced new placemaking platforms to attract different customer segments, including a culinary platform, Taste EL Gouna”, Egypt’s first-of-its-kind gastronomy platform, bringing Michelin-star chefs from around the world to exchange knowledge with local chefs, while reinforcing our sustainability DNA. 

El Gouna hosts nearly 60 event types across entertainment, culture, arts and sports, including iconic events such as the El Gouna Film Festival and newer platforms such as the culinary platform: Taste El Gouna. 

We also advanced architecture through new neighbourhoods, including Tuban, the largest neighbourhood in El Gouna’s history; Fanadir Marina, our fourth marina with elevated customer experience and food and beverage offerings; and La Maison Bleue Residences, our first branded residences inspired by La Maison Bleue Hotel. 

The achievement I am most proud of is building the team, because managing a town cannot be a one-person effort. 

Q: How do you evaluate El Gouna’s reputation among investors and stakeholders? 

MA: El Gouna offers a unique living experience because it is a privately owned town with a high level of amenities that can suit serenity and wellness, vibrancy and everything in between. 

Boating is central; we are the largest marina operator in the region. Kitesurfing is also a major strength. El Gouna is among the best places globally due to steady wind and 12 kilometres of shoreline. 

With mountain backdrops, a major lagoon system, two international championship golf courses and a wide range of amenities, El Gouna offers a one-of-a-kind experience beyond the Middle East. 

From an investment perspective, we are unique because we are the only destination in Egypt licensed to sell in USD; in the first  9 months of 2025 over 40% of sales happened outside Egypt and 18% of residents are international, which supports investor confidence and helps mitigate local currency fluctuation risk. 

We have a proven track record of real estate value accretion averaging 10% to 12% year over year, higher in recent years, and rental yields of 6% to 8% due to the town’s tourism nature and placemaking. 

In El Gouna we say it is not work-life balance; it is life-work balance. 

Q: What are the key highlights of North Bay and Fanadir Shores? 

MA: El Gouna comprises more than 40 neighbourhoods, each with distinct architecture, but all follow the same El Gouna DNA. 

North Bay is designed with innovation while staying true to that DNA and is led by Mexican architect Victor Legorreta, who studied El Gouna before shaping his architectural philosophy; it features a different colour palette that still blends seamlessly, focuses mainly on families and single-family homes, and includes an open lagoon system that allows residents to park a boat in front of their house. 

Fanadir Shores is in an extremely premium location between La Maison Bleue and Fanadir Shores Front (the highest-end villa neighbourhood in El Gouna), with a new small marina developed for Fanadir Shores behind it, and direct seafront access. It is mainly multi-family, very premium and has performed strongly since launch around seven to eight months ago. 

Adjacent, we also introduced La Maison Bleue Residences, our first branded home offering inspired by La Maison Bleue Hotel, a 13-suite boutique luxury hotel with strong loyalty and demand. The residences were pre-launched with high demand and a limited number of units to preserve the boutique nature. 

Q: How important are UAE investors and residents to El Gouna? 

MA: The UAE is a key target market with two major customer segments: UAE nationals and Egyptians living in the UAE, both of which generate strong demand. 

A third important dimension is partnerships, supported by increased focus on Egypt’s tourism outlook; this is especially relevant for us given our hospitality footprint of 18 hotels and nearly 3,000 rooms. 

There is growing investor interest in the Red Sea because it is underdeveloped compared with the Mediterranean. With seven countries on the Red Sea and limited coastal development, the opportunity is significant. 

The Red Sea’s biodiversity and distinctive offerings, scuba diving, water sports, boating and calm sea conditions most of the year, make it compelling for investors, and we are already seeing increased investment that can strengthen the Red Sea brand and, in turn, Egypt’s destination brand. 

Q: Can you describe the Cycling for Humanity initiative? 

MA: Sustainability and social responsibility are part of El Gouna’s DNA, as the town was founded 35 years ago to coexist in harmony with its physical environment and its social environment. We employ thousands of people from surrounding towns and support community development through education platforms including a nursing school, a sea captains school and a hospitality school that help graduates access quality jobs. 

On sustainability, we have long been a pioneer, including a major private-sector solar plant in Egypt, a plastic recycling facility that is around 27 years old and waste collection, sorting and recycling, alongside initiatives in mobility, water, irrigation, treatment and reuse. 

We launched our collaboration with the United Nations World Food Programme during the El Gouna Film Festival through a cycling event across the town, donating 350,000 Egyptian pounds for every kilometre cycled in honour of 35 years . It included influential figures and senior officials from WFP, GFF and El Gouna as well as strong community participation, reflecting the closeness and international diversity of the El Gouna community. 

During the El Gouna Film Festival we also hosted Cate Blanchett as the Goodwill Ambassdor for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, highlighting humanitarian work. 

We aim to play our role in social responsibility within El Gouna, the broader Red Sea community and Egypt. 

Q: How would you describe your leadership style? 

MA: I am originally from Alexandria, then moved to Cairo, but I prefer living by the sea. I worked internationally, including four years in Dubai, then Miami overseeing Latin America across up to 36 countries, then the United Kingdom for five years overseeing the Middle East and Africa across nearly 85 countries. These experiences strengthened my cultural sensitivity, adaptability and empathy, which are essential in this role. 

Leading El Gouna is unique because it combines corporate responsibilities with a municipal dimension that must be learned on the job. 

My leadership style prioritises execution excellence: get the strategy roughly right, then execute superbly, especially as conditions change. 

The Forbes Middle East recognition reflects El Gouna’s scale and impact, particularly our three pillars: real estate, hospitality and hotels and town management. 

Town management includes more than 600 outlets, four marinas, golf, schools, hospitals and all operations outside hotels and real estate; hospitality includes 18 hotels and nearly one million visitors per year, with peaks such as the Christmas season, while remaining a year-round destination with permanent residents. 

Q: Why should investors consider opportunities within your portfolio? 

MA: Come visit. I do not need to sell El Gouna; many international visitors come once and decide to stay for years. 

When I returned to Egypt, I bought a house in El Gouna within three months, which was not part of my plan. El Gouna is charming, with a contagious energy; residents call themselves “Gounies,” and there are now second-generation Gounies. Come visit, explore the town and you will understand why you will come again.