17 August 2009 – By Ian MacWilliam, Communications Officer, Aga Khan Development Network, Afghanistan
Tourism in Afghanistan? It’s not what you expect from this remote and beautiful, but troubled Central Asian nation. Most media reports on Afghanistan talk of war and bloodshed, insurgents and explosive devices. What they rarely report is that most of the northern half of the country is in fact quite peaceful and that reconstruction and development are moving forward.
A trickle of adventurous tourists is already arriving in Afghanistan, reminding Afghans of the heady days of the 1960s and 1970s when their country was a popular destination for thousands of foreign visitors, and tourism was good business. Those who came then ranged from archaeologists and ethnographers to hippies and other Western youth looking for adventure in high Asia.
The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), one of the world’s largest private development agencies, works extensively in South and Central Asia.
Ismailimail 