Sun, May 26, 2024 page12

• Afghan tourism rocked by attack

  • By Pascale Trouillaud / AFP, KABUL
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  An attack claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group that killed foreign tourists visiting a market in central Afghanistan has also dealt a blow to the country’s nascent tourism sector.

  “If there is another attack in the next few weeks or months, Afghanistan’s tourism industry will be over,” said Joe Sheffer, founder of the Safarat tourism agency, which specializes in tours to the country.

  One or more gunmen on Friday last week killed six people in central Bamiyan Province, including three Spanish tourists. Another four foreigners in the tourist group were wounded. The IS on Sunday last week claimed the assault on the group of 13 travelers with a Spanish tour agency, believed to be the first against foreign tourists since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.

  

  A man works in front of the ruins of a 1,500-year-old Buddha statue in Bamiyan, Afghanistan.

  Photo: Reuters

  The Taliban authorities have touted improved security in Afghanistan since their takeover in 2021 ended their insurgency against foreign-backed government forces.

  Bamiyan Province, with its giant Buddhas dynamited in 2001 under the Taliban’s first rule and turquoise lakes at Band-e Amir, is the country’s leading tourist destination.

  Sheffer said a couple of customers had already canceled their trip and the company was reviewing its operations in Afghanistan.

  “We will reduce group sizes... We are canceling itineraries in remote locations... We are reducing walking in public places,” he said.

  “Of course, any violent attack on tourists will have a negative impact on future tourist interest,” said James Willcox, founder of the Untamed Border tour agency.

  However, he added: “We have been working in Afghanistan for over 15 years and there has never been a time when there has not been anti-government groups operating in the country. Sadly it is something that everyone that visits Afghanistan has to consider when they travel.”

  In Bangkok, Away Vacation tour agency manager Phakhaporn Thantadakul wants to cancel a trip set for next month and July. The group from majority Buddhist Thailand wanted to visit Bamiyan, once a major center of Buddhist influence.

  “I will check with my group first because the security is coming first. If anything happens, I cannot handle it,” she said.

  The founder of travel agency Let’s be Friends Afghanistan (LBFA) Noor Mohammad Ramazan said that “questions flooded towards me from clients worried about safety” after the attack.

  “Crowded areas and communicating with locals is the favorite part for the tourists in Afghanistan. But unfortunately for a while we will have to stay away from that,” he said.

  However, he believes the attack would not entirely end tourism, Ramazan said.

  “We had lots of issues before in Afghanistan, but still adventurous travelers want to visit,” said Ramazan, who started LBFA in 2015.

  French tourist Didier Goudant, who visited Bamiyan for the second year in a row on a ski trip two months ago, said he would hesitate to return now.

  “We knew the risk of terrorism existed in Afghanistan, but it seemed less in Bamiyan, a tranquil, welcoming region,” Goudant said.

  The Taliban government is keen to encourage tourism, although many Western governments have repeatedly warned against visiting Afghanistan. Though lacking in infrastructure, the beauty of its landscapes and legendary hospitality of its people have attracted a growing number of adventurers to the country over the past few decades. Tourists have started to trickle in since the Taliban ousted the Western-backed government, with official figures showing visits rose by 120 percent to almost 5,200 last year.

  “The problems in Afghanistan is that we have gone from zero tourists to possibly 7,000, some people say 10,000 in the year,” Sheffer said.

  “It’s all been too much, too fast,” he added.

  “A lot of tour operators who started out in a very slow, extremely cautions way, using a lot of security techniques... A lot of those precautions have kind of been left behind because we are fighting fires in terms of organizing infrastructure, organizing transport,” he said.

  Sheffer predicted that the Taliban government, which arrested seven suspects after the attack, would react by imposing more rules on tourists who are already required to register in every province they visit.

  “It will just make it more difficult for foreign tourists to enjoy the country,” Sheffer said.

  However, it “will do nothing to prevent a repeat of the attack,” he added.
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