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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Kaamil Ahmed

‘Whoever says Syria’s safe is a liar’: country’s tourist drive at odds with human rights record

People shop at the Al-Hamidiyah Souq, decorated with banners depicting Syria's president Bashar al-Assad.
The Al-Hamidiyah Souq in Damascus. The Syrian government is trying to revive the country’s once thriving tourism industry. Photograph: Yamam Al Shaar/Reuters

Affordable, friendly and ready for tourists – this is the message behind a new drive to promote Syria as a holiday destination, despite a recent human rights report determining the Assad government was responsible for “crimes against humanity” and the Foreign Office warning against all travel to the country.

In a bid to revive the country’s once thriving tourism industry before the devastating civil war killed thousands, levelled cities and drove 13 million people from their homes, the government has begun a concerted campaign to convince investors – and holidaymakers – that Syria has much to offer foreign visitors.

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