Afghanistan may not rival Spain, Greece or Turkey as a tourism hotspot, but the war-torn country’s Taliban rulers still dream of turning it into a top destination for holidaymakers.
Tourist numbers have soared from just 691 in 2021 to more than 7,000 in 2023, according to The Associated Press news agency.
The central Asian state was a key feature on the hippy trail in the 1970s, but the Soviet invasion, the Taliban’s oppressive regime in the 1990s and 20-year-long war between 2001-21 triggered by the September 11 attacks killed off Afghanistan’s tourist industry.
Since the US and UK withdrew from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s grip on power returned, officials have been keen to promote the country and reassure visitors they will be safe as they seek to rebuild the nation’s coffers.
Social media influencers have been busily promoting the country, according to the BBC, citing clips showing travellers posing next to what remains of the Bamiyan Buddhas, giant statues destroyed by the Taliban in March 2001.
But the images conveyed in the shiny videos raise questions about the risks of travelling to Afghanistan and who benefits from the tourism dollars in a country where women and girls are being discriminated against and their access to education and jobs curtailed.
The Foreign Office advises against all travel to Afghanistan, saying the security situation is “volatile” and travel throughout the country is “extremely dangerous”. British nationals are also at heightened risk of being detained in the country, where British officials’ ability to help are “extremely limited”.
Afghanistan was identified as the world’s most dangerous country last year in the Institute for Economics and Peace’s Global Peace Index report. It was the sixth year in a row the country topped the survey of 163 countries which looked at 23 indicators, including political terror, murder rate, and national safety levels.
Despite the warnings, travel guides have still visited. Sascha Heeney told the BBC the experience is “raw”, adding: “You don’t get much rawer than there. That can be attractive – if you want to see real life.”
Ms Heeney told Woman’s Hour: “Geographically, where it is positioned, is absolutely stunning. The people are just so kind and really welcoming actually and what I took from this trip was how appreciative the local people were to see tourists there, especially women.”
Mohammad Saeed, who is in charge of the Taliban’s Tourism Directorate in Kabul, said this year he dreamed of Afghanistan becoming a tourist hotspot.
Mr Saeed said he was especially keen on attracting Chinese tourists to the country, with the backing “of the Elders”.
He claimed travellers have been choosing Afghanistan because it is safer than neighbouring countries, pointing to Pakistan in particular.
Samir Ahmadzai, a Taliban-trained hospitality specialist, told MailOnline earlier this year the foreigners hear Afghanistan is backwards, poverty and all about war.
But he added: “We have 5,000 years of history. There should be a new page of Afghanistan.”
There are no direct flights between Britain and Afghanistan, but it is possible to pick up connecting flights in Dubai.
