Somalia's Tourist Industry Is Booming and Here's Why

It was just over three years ago when a tourist showed up in Mogadishu, puzzling officials to no end. Canadian Mike Spencer Bown was initially suspected of being a spy, or worse, just plain crazy.
 Bown recalls having Somali officials trying several times to put him back on a plane, and then turning him over to the army when they refused to believe that he was there for pleasure. Everywhere he went, he said, he was met with laughter whenever he declared himself a tourist.

This is no surprise as the country has been strife with civil conflict for almost two decades, making it one of the most dangerous capitals in the world for tourists, or anyone else, really.

In fact, the Tourism Ministry’s operations were completely shut down in the early 1990’s, and were only re-established in the 2000s.

Bown, however, would not be dissuaded and went ahead to experience the beaches and Italian architecture. The two days he stayed in the country was under heavy guard.

Other tourists might not be so brave or foolhardy, however. The U.S. Bureau of Consular Affairs lists kidnapping, illegal roadblocks, and murder as some of the threats to U.S. citizens and other foreigners. Why, then, should anyone spend time touring Mogadishu?

Cousins Andy Drury and Nigel Green say that they have made it their mission to tour this war-torn capital simply because of an intense thirst for knowledge. After all, little is known about the culture of Somalia, except for the chaos.

While in the capital, the cousins inspected the highlights of the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu in which Somali rebels took down mighty American forces. This incident would become legend eight years later in Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down. They were even able to visit the actual crash site.

They also toured the Olympic Hotel against security warnings, but were unable to go inside as their security detail pulled them out. Lorries had blocked the two alleys beside the hotel. Apparently, this was standard operating procedure for kidnappings.

Somali Businessman Bashir Osman has already started building a multi-million dollar luxury beach resort in addition to two hotels that he already owns in the capital. He insists that peace and stability have already come to Mogadishu and will only become stronger in the coming years. Osman says American and British tourists have already been guests at his hotels.

The economy, in fact, has started picking up despite ongoing security concerns. This is because of Somalis that have started coming home after the war to rebuild. Osman is one of those that never left and is now fervently hoping for a change.

Construction is booming and investors from Europe and the U.S. have started putting up businesses.

To be sure, progress is slow, but it’s steady in coming.