Nna Johnson
15 November 2008
From thousands of kilometres of pristine Mediterranean coastline, to sweeping desert sand dunes and ancient ruins that rival Greece and Italy, Libya has a lot to offer travellers looking for a rare off-the-beaten path destination but obstacles remain.
UN sanctions kept tourists from visiting this North African country for more than a decade. Now the former pariah state best known for its eccentric leader, Moammar Gadhafi, is slowly opening its doors as it tries to shed its rogue state status.
A new airport is in the works for the capital of Tripoli. The national airline, Afriqiyah Airways, is buying new Airbus planes, and in September, one of Gadhafi's sons announced a sweeping plan to promote ecotourism in the pine and olive-tree filled Green Mountains in northeastern Libya, saying it was time for the oil-dominated country to diversify its economy.
"Libya used to be just oil, but now we have another way for the future tourism. And Libya is still virgin," said Ibris Saleh Abdussalam, a Libyan tour guide.
Despite the plans and promises, however, tourists seeking a convenience-filled, luxury vacation should beware Libya's tourism industry is still far behind its Mediterranean neighbours. ATMs are scarce and often unreliable; the decor of many hotels is straight out of the 1970s.
And forget about having a glass a wine with dinner: alcohol is forbidden in Libya, even in Tripoli's high-end Corinthia Bab Africa hotel.
"Libya has tremendous potential. ... But Libya is still in its infancy and needs to develop infrastructure and facilities," said Amr Abdel-Ghaffar, of the UN World Tourism Organization in Madrid.
Once the United States' sworn enemy, Libya is embarking on a political and economic U-turn that includes boosting its tourism industry.
The change of heart began in 2003, when UN sanctions were abruptly lifted after 11 years when Gadhafi announced he was dismantling his nuclear weapons program and took responsibility for the 1988 bombing of a Pam Am plane over Lockerbie, Scotland. Last year, the U.S. State Department removed Libya from its list of state sponsors of terrorism and reopened its embassy for the first time since 1979, when a mob attacked and set fire to the mission.
Proof that Libya has a long way to go is in the numbers. According to the UN tourism agency, less than one per cent of Libya's GDP came from tourism with only 149,000 tourists visiting in 2004, the last year the country provided statistics. Compare that to neighbouring Egypt, which hosted about nine million tourists last year.
"Libya is into the hundreds of thousands of tourists versus millions in Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt," said Rajeev Singh-Molares, a director at the Cambridge, Mass.-based consulting firm Monitor Group, who helped write a report on Libya's economy in 2006.
Kenneth Jackson, a customer service agent with the U.S.-based Zierer Visa Service, said most of the Americans who apply for Libyan tourist visas through his company are travelling on Mediterranean cruises. Though a majority who apply receive a visa, many Americans chose to stay onboard the ship when it docks in Tripoli rather than deal with the visa hassle, he said.
"The biggest problem is Libyan bureaucracy. ... And they're erratic, suddenly deciding they aren't going to admit Americans just as a cruise ship with Americans on board is about to arrive is not a good way to develop tourism," Tony Wheeler, a co-founder of Lonely Planet travel guidebooks, said via e-mail from Australia. Lonely Planet issued its first book solely dedicated to Libya in 2002, and a second edition was released a few months ago.
Once inside, Libyans are welcoming, often giving curious looks and friendly "hellos" to westerners. And the sites both natural and manmade - are spectacular.
On the northwestern coast, about 120 kilometres east of Tripoli, is Leptis Magna, among the most significant cities of the Roman Empire and one of five UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Libya. The well-preserved ancient limestone city features towering columns and arches, temples, a theatre and bathhouses.
One the opposite side of the country the northeastern coast sits Cyrene, an ancient Greek city founded in 631 BC. Vast ruins including temples, forums and theatres sit on cliffs here overlooking the virtually untouched Mediterranean coast.
Then there is the great Sahara Desert, which covers more than 90 per cent of the country. Among its many features is the small oasis city of Ghadames, which was one of the most notable stops on the ancient Sahara trade routes. Farther south is the mountain range of Jebel Acacus, home to the indigenous Tuareg people and prehistoric rock art that dates back 12,000 years.
Tourist Gerd Juetting, who in September travelled to Libya with about a dozen others as part of a German tour group, believes the time is now to see Libya despite the hassles and lack of infrastructure.
"People would ask us, 'Why Libya?"' said Juetting as he looked at ancient marble statues of Greek gods at a small museum in Cyrene.
"But the only way to see Roman and Greek settlements from back then is to come. ... We now hope we can go back home and tell people about this."
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You stupid Arabs, especially the naive Libyans be aware of cross-cultural crimes, racism and 'Piracy'. The entire scum bags and hypocrite greedy of the world are distorting and extorting you. They are using religions and the palestinians-Israelis conflicts as "Poker Cards" to distort and to extort the naive, the stupid, the mis-managed, wicked and idiot Arabs and their rulers. They are the pirates and the racists of the east, asia, africa and the middle east who are screwing up the Arabs, the Jews and our Wicked Western world.
Wake up stupid and wicked Arabs, Jews and our greedy Western maniacs.
Certainly, Libya considered to be one of the most fascinating tourist destinations in the world. It is still one of the most clean and healthy places to visit and enjoy either visiting ancient historic places of significance in the chain of human development and civilizations, such as the ancient remains of the Roman, the Greek, the finicians and the turicks empires on one hand. Otherwise enjoying 2000 Kilometers of driving, swimming and fishing in some of the most clean and untouchanble mediterreanian blue water of the world. Also having the choices of enjoying the mountains views along the coast or sun tanning deep in the white and yellow sands of the desert.
It is safe, cheap and above all most of the Libyans are ethical, hospitable and friendly, except they lack adequate training, skills and bureaucracy in customer service, foreign languages, cultures, value systems, etc...
Eventhough, many of the Libyans speak, read and write English, Italian and French fluently, they tend to be shy and disciplined like many other nations in the developing world who haven't had the chance to get exposed to other cultures.
Also, most of the Libyans are cautious at the beginning due to crimes, bigotry and racism in other cultures. It takes sometime to know you well and as soon as they realized that you are trustworthy and ethical they open up to you and become genuine friends. Most of the Libyans are serious people, they seek genuine friendships and exchanges with other cultures.
Please, remember most of the Libyans tend to dislike and avoid bullies, fake and scum bags. They are natural and genuine in their friendship and exchanges.
Have a nice and a safe flight to tour Libya, but please be patient, it may take sometime to understand the Libyans and their fine cultures and metals.