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‘A new page of Afghanistan’: Students studying tourism want to show another side to their country
05.05.2024 - 23:09 / euronews.com
A Taliban-run institute is training tourism and hospitality professionals to attract visitors to Afghanistan.
Its debut student cohort consists of around 30 men, who are being trained in a Kabul classroom.
The students vary in age, education level and professional experience. They're all men - Afghan women are banned from studying beyond sixth grade - and they don't know anything about tourism or hospitality. But they are all eager to promote a different side of Afghanistan. And the Taliban are happy to help.
Afghanistan’s rulers are pariahs on the global stage, largely because of their restrictions on women and girls. The economy is struggling, infrastructure is poor, and poverty is rife.
And yet, foreigners are visiting the country, encouraged by the sharp drop in violence, increased flight connections with hubs like Dubai, and the bragging rights that come with vacationing in an unusual destination. The numbers aren’t huge - they never were - but there’s a buzz around Afghan tourism.
In 2021, there were 691 foreign tourists. In 2022, that figure rose to 2,300. Last year, there were 7,000.
Mohammad Saeed, the head of the Tourism Directorate in Kabul, says the biggest foreign visitor market is China because of its proximity and large population. Afghanistan also has advantages over some of its neighbours.
“They’ve told me they don’t want to go to Pakistan because it’s dangerous and they get attacked. The Japanese have said this to me also," says Saeed. “This is good for us.”
But there are disadvantages, too.
Visas are difficult and expensive to access. Many countries severed ties with Afghanistan after the Taliban returned to power, and no country recognises them as the legitimate rulers of the country.
Afghan embassies either closed or suspended their operations. There's an ongoing power struggle between Afghanistan’s embassies and consulates staffed by people from the former Western-backed administration, and those under the Taliban administration’s full control.
Saeed concedes there are obstacles for Afghan tourism to develop but says he is working with ministries to overcome them.
His ultimate aim is to have a visa on arrival for tourists, but that could be years away. There are problems with the road network, which is half-paved or non-existent in some parts of the country, and airlines largely avoid Afghan airspace.
The capital Kabul has the most international flights, but no Afghan airport has direct routes with major tourist markets like China, Europe, or India.
Despite the challenges, Saeed wants Afghanistan to become a tourism powerhouse, an ambition that appears to be backed by the Taliban’s top leaders.
“I have been sent to this department on the instructions of the elders [ministers]. They must trust
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