Libya Welcomes Back First Tourists Group in Decade

Libya Welcomes Back First Tourists Group in Decade

Craftspeople are among those to have been hit by another decade of lost tourism potential in Libya Mahmud TURKIA AFP

Libya has hosted its first group of foreign tourists in a decade, with an excursion to an oasis town deep in the desert previously off-limits to visitors due to years of war.

French traveler Jean-Paul, who first visited Libya more than a decade ago, was among some 100 mostly European tourists on the trip, AFP reported.

He said he had long wanted to return to the "magnificent country, with extraordinary scenery and very welcoming people".

"Events meant for 10 years that wasn't possible -- then we were told we could finally come back on a supervised trip, with a security detail," the 57-year-old said.

"People here are very welcoming and you get the feeling that Libyans really want to see tourists again."

Police sirens echoed around the oasis of Ghadames, its old white buildings set amid a sea of palm trees, as the convoy of dozens of four-wheel-drives ferried the Italian, French, Icelandic and Swiss tourists through town.

Libya had been mostly off-limits to tourists throughout the four-decade rule of Moamer Kadhafi.

When the dictator was overthrown in a 2011 uprising, foreign visitors mostly continued to stay away