BAMYAN (SW) – Nearly 200,000 tourists, including foreign tourists, have visited Bamyan province this year so far, said officials.
According to the officials, nearly 5.5 million afghanis worth of revenue has been generated thanks to the bustling tourism here.
Saif al-Rahman Mohammadi, the director of information and culture in Bamyan, told Salam Watandar: “We have registered 170,000 tourists in the area of Band Amir National Park alone.”
According to the head of information and culture of Bamyan, nearly 30 thousand other tourists have visited the historical places of this province, including more than 700 foreign tourists.
On the other hand, some residents of Bamyan say that this year the number of tourists in this province is less than in previous years. According to them, the income of Bamyan residents has a direct relationship with tourists. They added that their economic business has decreased a little this year compared to previous years. They want more tourists to visit this province.
Abdullah Saadat, one of the hoteliers in Bamyan, said this year, the level of domestic tourists was good, but not as much as during the republican period when the business situation was very good.
Meanwhile, Fariba Hamidi, a resident of Bamyan, emphasizing the direct relationship between tourism and the economy of the residents of this province, said that with the decrease of tourists in Bamyan, the economy of most of the residents and employees of this province has decreased. He wants citizens to travel to Bamyan and visit its historical and natural places.
On the other hand, a number of tourists who have traveled to Bamyan, emphasizing the protection of the historical and tourism places of this province, complained about the lack of facilities.
Sharifullah Sharifi, a resident of Balkh who recently visited Bamyan with his family, said the tourist places in Bamyan are the national assets, and all people should be very serious in protecting them.
Band Amir, as one of the tourist attractions in Bamyan, has six natural lakes named “Band Gholaman, Haibat, Paneer, Pudina, Zulfiqar and Qambar”, which are visited by thousands of tourists every year. This area was named as “Band Amir National Park” in 2007. The historic cities of Gholghla, Dhahak, Bamyan Buddhas and dozens of other touristic places attract many visitors annually.
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