Libya has received its first tourists since the collapse of the Muammar Gaddafi regime in 2011 following an uprising by citizens and intervention by superpowers.
KAWA reports that the North African country welcomed about 100 European tourists to Ghadames, a city that has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986.
The tourists from Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and the rest of Europe were said to have entered Libya from neighbouring Tunisia and began their 12-day journey in Ghadames, near the Algerian and Tunisian borders.
“The visit of the group of tourists is part of the efforts of the Ministry of Tourism and Traditional Handicrafts to resume international tourism activities in Libya, and change the stereotyped image of the country,” the ministry was quoted as saying.
The trip to Libya by the European tourists was meant to “break the wall of fear in many admirers of the Libyan Sahara”, according to the head of a local travel agency El Kouba.
Libya has set up a police convoy that will follow the road trip of tourists.
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