May 2006

Libya Must Ease Visa Processing to Improve Country’s Tourism

About 300 000 tourists annually visit Libya, one of the largest African countries. If compared to 6 mln visitors in Morocco and Tunisia and 8.5 mln travelers, who come to Egypt every year, Libya gets just 0.5 % of all tourists in the Middle East and North Africa.

Nevertheless, the country showed its potential when it welcomed more than 7 000 foreigners in March to view a solar eclipse. The event has raised interest in Libya as a tourist destination. It has all to attract travellers: ancient Roman and Greek ruins, prehistoric desert sites and all the beauty of the Mediterranean southern shores.

“If Libya got its act together, it could be a tourism world beater,” said Rajeev Singh-Molares, one of the authors of a report on the Libyan economy by Monitor Group consultants and Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA).

The country plans to build a series of tourism complexes, but there are many problems to be solved before Libya gets the status of top travel destination, one of which is slow and complex tourist visa processing.

“It’s so difficult to get visas to go into the country: there’s no point talking about reform if it takes 45 days to approve a tourist visa. That’s got to change,” Singh-Molares said.

The country has already begun to speed up visa processing for large groups of tourists travelling with approved operators.

Source: http://www.middle-east-online.com/

Russian Officials Let British Explorers Travel across the Country

British explorers Karl Bushby and Dimitry Kieffer are back on track after Russian officials changed their mind about their expulsion for violating border crossing rules.

Bushby and Kieffer appealed the ruling by the Chukotka district court of April 14, on a 2,000-rouble fine and administrative expulsion which entails a five-year travel ban to Russia.

The travellers are still to pay a fine of 2 000 rubles (£40) to the Russian authorities, but they are let to continue their walk.

The 36 000-mile trip – called the Goliath Expedition – started in Chile in 1998. It is expected to take 12 years.

Sources: http://edition.cnn.com/ , http://news.bbc.co.uk/ , http://www.tass.ru/