Kabul, 2 April 2024 (TDI): According to the reports, the tourist numbers rise in War-torn Afghanistan. Official figures revealed a 120% year-on-year increase in foreign tourist arrivals in 2023. This represents nearly 5,200 travelers, a significant rise from previous years.
The Taliban government, which has yet to gain international recognition, has cautiously embraced tourism as a potential source of economic development.
Afghanistan, located in the heart of Asia, is a land of ancient civilizations, breathtaking landscapes, and rich cultural heritage. Despite facing significant challenges in recent decades, Afghanistan is a country with immense potential and a resilient spirit.
His soldier son toured Afghanistan with fighters in his crosshairs, but US traveler Oscar Wells has a different objective – sightseeing promoted by the Taliban’s fledgling tourism sector.
Decades of conflict made tourism in Afghanistan extremely rare, and while most violence has now abated, visitors are still confronted with extreme poverty, dilapidated cultural sites, and scant hospitality infrastructure.
Also Read: Afghanistan faces a humanitarian crisis with 23.7 million in need
“Afghanistan’s enemies don’t present the country in a good light,” said Information and Culture Minister Khairullah Khairkhwa. But if these people come and see what it’s really like,” he added, “they will share a good image of it.”
“I felt we had a horrible exit, it created such a vacuum and disaster. “It’s good to help these people and keep relations,” US traveler, Wells.
For solo traveler Stefanie Meier, a 53-year-old US citizen who spent a month traveling from Kabul to Kandahar via Bamiyeh and Herat in the west, it was a “bittersweet experience”.
“I have been able to meet people I never thought I would meet, who told me about their life,” she said, adding that she did not face any issues as a woman on her own. She did experience “disbelief that people have to live like this”, she added. “The poverty, there are no jobs, women not being able to go to school, no future for them.”
){kind=link}