Perspectives of hotel and tourist village officials on the cultivation of wooden trees for shoreline stabilization on the northwestern coast, Egypt

This study aimed to identify the extent of knowledge and willingness of hotel and tourist village officials to plant wooden trees from Alexandria to Mersa Matrouh, Egypt, to protect beaches from erosion. The data were collected from 41 total respondents through the questionnaire by a personal interview. Results indicate that most respondents do not know anything about the marine environmental concept or the importance of preserving it. Different answers were received on statements related to hearing about the idea of planting trees for stabilization purposes. The answers reveal that there are still some fundamental knowledge gaps in the comprehension of some basic aspects of planting trees on the shoreline. In addition, the respondents’ knowledge about adopting the cultivation of trees on the beach was determined. In general, various answers were received with respect to the respondents’ updated information, sources of information, reasons for adopting the cultivation of trees on shorelines, reasons for adopting the cultivation of trees to stabilize beaches, reasons for not adopting the idea of planting trees to protect the beaches from erosion and problems faced by the respondents in planting trees and their vision to solve them. In conclusion, more efforts are recommended from those in charge of extension work and more attention should be paid to extension training through conducting awareness campaigns and courses. Additionally, different organizations in Egypt are required to cooperate in spreading the idea under investigation and facilitating procedures.