The city was founded in the early 20th century, and since the 1980s has been continually enlarged by American, European and Arab investors to become the leading bathing resort on the Red Sea. Holiday villages and first class hotels provide excellent aquatic sport facilities for sail boarders, yachtsmen, scuba divers and snorkelers.

Hurghada stretches for about 40 km along the seashore, and it doesn't reach far into the surrounding desert. The resort is a destination for package holiday tourists from Europe, notably Russians, Czechs and Germans. Until a few years ago it remained a small fishing village. Today Hurghada counts 40,000 inhabitants and is divided into three parts: Downtown (El Dahar) is the old part; Sekalla is the modern part, and El Korra Road is the most modern part. Sakkala is the relatively modest hotel quarter. Dahar is where the town's largest bazaar, the post office and the long-distance bus station are situated. Many restaurants, bars and shops, small pubs and internet cafes are available all over Hurghada.

The city is served by the Hurghada International Airport with scheduled passenger traffic to and from Cairo and direct connections with several cities in Europe.