The Taliban regime, which effectively governs Afghanistan, has recently come under controversy for producing and distributing promotional tourism videos in which Afghan influencers parody execution scenes to attract tourists.
According to EFE news agency on the 10th, the video features an Afghan man dressed like a Taliban warrior, kneeling behind men who have black plastic bags over their heads, stating, "I have a message for America."
It appears to reenact execution scenes carried out by armed groups in places like Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria in the past.
As the man dressed as a Taliban warrior removes the plastic bag from the kneeling man's head, the man who played the hostage smiles and says, "Welcome to Afghanistan." The video then introduces various major tourist attractions in Afghanistan.
The exact date when the video was made is unknown, but it has been widely shared recently on social media. It can be found by entering the search term "Afghanistan tourism (#afghanistan tourism)" on platforms like X (formerly Twitter). It is especially circulating through accounts that advocate for the Taliban regime or promote Afghan tourism.
Recently, the number of tourists visiting Afghanistan is reported to be increasing. According to the Taliban, around 15,000 foreign tourists have visited Afghanistan since 2022.
The Taliban regime is also actively working to attract tourists for foreign currency and image improvement. They are promoting Afghan tourism not only through their official website and social media but also through over 3,000 overseas travel agencies, bloggers, and YouTubers. The Taliban promotes that Afghanistan is not dangerous at all, contrary to the image it presents to the West.
However, EFE reported that foreign visitors to Afghanistan are still exposed to significant risks. In fact, last year, four Spanish tourists and one Afghan were killed in an armed attack in the Bamiyan area near the Afghan capital Kabul.
The Islamic extremist terrorist group Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for this incident, identifying itself as IS-Khorasan (ISIS-K), the Afghanistan branch of IS.