Holiday in Afghanistan: Taliban wish you were here

Tourism is booming under the Taliban regime as Westerners flock to see its unspoilt sites - but not everyone is winning.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatchHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessWomen at the HelmFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersAfghanistan - wish you were here? The Taliban doGetty ImagesWhen it comes to planning a holiday, Afghanistan is not at the top of most people’s must-visit lists.

Decades of conflict mean that few tourists dared step foot in the Central Asian nation since its heyday as part of the hippie trail in the 1970s. And the future of whatever tourism industry had survived was thrust into further uncertainty by the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.

But a quick scroll through social media suggests that not only has tourism survived, it has - in its own, extraordinarily niche way - boomed.

“Five reasons why Afghanistan should be your next trip,” gush the delighted influencers, their cameras sweeping across glistening lakes, through mountainous passes and into colourful, busy markets.

“Afghanistan hasn’t been this safe in 20 years,” others declare, posing next to the vast chasms left behind by the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas more than 20 years ago.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cv223yvnp9mo

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