Experts in Afghanistanʼs tourism industry are pondering how to attract tourists to the country, and the Taliban are more than happy to help.
This is reported by the Associated Press.
Afghanistan is an outcast on the world stage, largely because of the suppression of womenʼs rights. The countryʼs economy faces serious challenges, its infrastructure is underdeveloped, and poverty is widespread.
And yet, foreigners still visit the country — encouraged by a sharp drop in violence in the country, the expansion of air travel and bragging rights about vacationing in an unusual place. And although the number of tourists in Afghanistan remains insignificant, interest in tourism is still growing.
In 2021, 691 foreign tourists visited the country. In 2022, this number will increase to 2 300, and last year there were already 7 000.
The head of the Kabul Tourism Authority Mohammad Saeed said that most foreign visitors came from China, due to its geographical proximity and large population. In addition, Afghanistan has some minor advantages over some of its neighbors.
"Visitors from China have said they donʼt want to go to Pakistan because itʼs dangerous and theyʼre being attacked there. The Japanese told me the same thing. This is good for us,” Saeed said.
But there are certain difficulties. In particular, obtaining a visa is difficult and expensive. Many countries broke off diplomatic relations with Afghanistan after the Taliban returned to power, because no country recognizes them as their legitimate rulers.
Afghan embassies have either closed or suspended their work. There is an ongoing power struggle between embassies and consulates staffed by people from the former Western-backed administration and those fully controlled by the Taliban.
Saeed admits there are obstacles to developing Afghan tourism, but said he is working with ministries to overcome them.
He plans to introduce a visa-on-arrival for tourists, but that could take years. In addition, there are problems with roads, which in some parts of the country are only half-paved or non-existent, and airlines largely avoid Afghan airspace.
In addition, no Afghan airport has direct connections with such large tourist markets as China, Europe or India.
Despite the many difficulties and the unfinished business, Saeed wants Afghanistan to become a center of tourism. Such ambitions are supported by the top leaders of the Taliban.
"I was sent to this department on the instructions of the elders (ministers). They must trust me because they sent me to this important place,” says Saeed.
Students of Afghan universities, where tourism and business are taught, also dream that foreigners will see their country from another side.
"Foreigners hear that Afghanistan is backward, see poverty and war. At the same time, we have 5 000 years of history. There should be a new page for Afghanistan,” said a business school student who dreams of opening his own hotel for tourists in Afghanistan.
An unofficial subject studied by students at tourism universities is how to interact with foreign women and how their behavior or habits may conflict with local customs and laws. Examples include women who smoke, eat in public, or associate freely with men unrelated to them by blood or marriage.
The Taliban have introduced a dress code for women in the country and rules that require a woman to be accompanied outside the home by her husband or a mahram, a close male relative. In addition, beauty salons were banned in the country, and gyms for women were closed.
In a sign that Afghanistan is preparing for new foreign visitors, the countryʼs only five-star hotel Kabul Serena has reopened its spa and beauty salon for foreign women after several months of closure. And to get access to services, foreigners must show their passport. Women born in Afghanistan are prohibited from visiting spas and beauty salons.