Libya Welcomes Back Tourists
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Tripoli also established a tourism ministry and issued tourist visas for the first time in 2010.
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The Gaberoun lake - Libya
Libya has welcomed its first international tourists in a decade. The travelers enjoyed a trip to an oasis village deep in the desert. It had previously been closed to outsiders due to years of conflict.
Jean-Paul, a French traveler who first visited Libya over a decade ago, was one of about 100 largely European tourists on the trip.
He expressed his desire to return to the "magnificent nation, with beautiful beauty and very welcoming people," which he described as "magnificent."
"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.
Tourism has been a minor business in Libya, whose economy has been driven by oil and gas.
But it did see a brief uptick in the 2000s. Tripoli also established a tourism ministry and issued tourist visas for the first time in 2010, allowing 110,000 foreign visitors to spend their vacation in the country and bringing in $40 million.
