Libya’s minister for tourism, Ikram Bash Imam, believes tourism can become a viable option for the war-torn nation over the next few years, although he has admitted that persuading the rest of the world that Libya – a nation still riddled with weapons and rival militias – is a holiday option that is safe to consider.
Despite its volatile reputation, Libya is rich in tourist attractions, with more than 1,000 miles (1,609km) of beaches on the Mediterranean Ocean, Roman and Greek ruins and Saharan troglodyte caves. Despite fierce fights between rebel groups, the country on the whole is remarkably unspoilt.
“Libya is a beautiful place and we are a hospitable people and we have much to show visitors,” said Imam, speaking at the World Travel Market. “I am optimistic about the future but it’s true that this is a very challenging issue.
For the first time in decades, the country is open to the rest of the world following the demise of Muammar Gaddafi two years ago. That however is only half the story as tourism barriers include heavily armed militia groups, a weak central government, jihadi terrorism and the threat of state failure.
Imam however says that while existent, the scale of violence in Libya has been exaggerated by the media. “Everyone focuses on the violence but most armed clashes are between Libyan individuals and groups. It is not war,” he said. “When we have our elections and our new constitution, they will hand in their weapons.”
Libya’s short-term plan for building tourism numbers is to increase domestic tourism and raise revenues by 4 per cent of GDP over the next two years. Following that efforts will be made to bring in an increased number of international tourists.
UNESCO-recognised heritage sites in the country have been neglected though plans are underway to develop Jebel Akhdar, south of Benghazi and Jebel Nafusa in the western mountains.
Imam continued: “The new Libya will not be closed to the world. We were cut off for too long. We don’t want hundreds of thousands of tourists coming without the infrastructure and services to receive them with high standards and in an honourable way. We need to lay the foundations for our industry.”
A practical issue that could affect the country’s tourism push is the difficulty for international visitors to obtain a holiday visa from Libyan embassies. A visa can be obtained by travel companies on arrival to Libya but international advice is to completely avoid parts of the country such as Benghazi and Derna and to avoid all but essential travel elsewhere in Libya with the UK Foreign Office citing “a high threat from terrorism including kidnapping.”
