Tourists smuggle corals

Bottles filled with fine-grained sand, plenty of corals, sea shells and even a whale bone were confiscated from tourists leaving Socotra in Hadibo airport in last four months. Customs officers complain that tourists are not aware of international convention against exporting corals and are not properly informed about a total ban on exporting any biological materials from Socotra.

The heap of illegal souvenirs has been transported back to the beach and the Environment Protection Authority in cooperation with the UNDP-GEF Socotra Governance and Biodiversity Project have been preparing an awareness campaign targeted on arriving tourists. With the beginning of the new tourist season, new posters should be displayed in the arrival hall of the airport and in accommodation facilities.