Until very recently, Marsa Alam (Arabic: مرسى علم) was a small fishing village in Egypt, on the west coast of the Red Sea. However, it has rapidly increased in popularity, and since the opening of its International Airport back in 2001, it has started to become yet another favourite holiday destination on the Red Sea Riviera. In fact, most informed observers believe that it is destined to become as popular a resort as Sharm el Sheikh and Hurghada, within the next few years. However, its airport is still small and, as of May 2007, had only one departure gate.