KABUL, Jan 8: Afghanistan will in a few months become a trendy new tourism destination for intrepid travellers, predicts Afghan Tourism Minister Abdul Rahman.

“The country is now open to tourists for the first time in 23 years,” Rahman told AFP in an interview. “Many people will be curious to see it first-hand, especially since it has been on television so much lately.”

He said he expected a tourist influx from Europe, Muslim countries and the United States in three or four months.

“They will be genuine tourists, not aid workers or journalists,” he said.

US citizens, in particular, would be keen to see places like Tora Bora, where alleged terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden was holed up in December with his followers, he said.

A heavy bombardment by US warplanes and a ground assault by Afghan forces eventually sent them fleeing towards year’s end, apparently into Pakistan.

Bin Laden is wanted in the US for the Sept 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, which killed at least 3,300 people.

The southern city of Kandahar, where Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar — wanted by the US for given Osma bin Laden shelter — had lived, will also become a tourist stop, Rahman added.

“Of course right now I wouldn’t send tourists to Kandahar or to Tora Bora but in some months the situation will be very different.” The minister has a difficult job on his hands.

Osama and Omar are still both on the run, and US warplanes are continuing their bombing campaigns in some areas of Afghanistan as they attempt to wipe out fanatical supporters of the two Islamic hardliners.

Kandahar is reported by aid agencies to be extremely unstable, while roads linking main centres are populated by ruthless bandits.

Apart from the lack of security, most cities have been badly damaged by more than two decades of fighting linked to the 1979-1989 Soviet invasion of the country, the subsequent civil war and, since 1996, warfare between opposition forces and Omar’s now-ousted Taliban regime.

Infrastructure barely exists, all centres suffer frequent power outages and the Afghan version of luxury hotel falls far short of international standards.

And then there’s the question of landmines — all 10 million of them scattered across the country. Rahman, of course, is aware of all these problems but believes nevertheless the authorities can secure some key tourist destinations, such as Kabul, the breathtaking Panjshir valley just to the north, the ancient western city of Herat, and large tracts of the north.

He’s also taking steps to find an international partner to help upgrade Kabul’s main hotel, the Intercontinental.

“We will also improve restaurants and the transport system for tourists,” he said.

A school to train tourist guides is currently being set up and in a few weeks the first students will start their classes.

Even though many previous tourist sites have been destroyed — such as the giant Buddha statues in Bamiyan province which were blown up by the hardline Taliban — they remain a curiosity, he said.

“Bamiyan is beautiful with or without the Buddhas,” he said. “Afghanistan offers nature parks, historical sites and wonderful landscapes.

“Of course there are problems, but if peace continues to exist, we will be able to create a very safe environment for tourists.”

Travel agents from Egypt, Spain and Greece had already made inquiries about marketing the country, he added.

Once commercial flights resume into and out of the country in a few weeks, foreigners — led by traders — would start arriving in droves, he predicted.

“After that word of mouth will ensure that Afghanistan becomes the new place in the world to visit.”

The current saturation television coverage of the US bombing campaign and the hunt for bin laden and Mullah Omar might not be a deterrent, he said

“It may be negative publicity right now, but at least it is publicity. For more than 20 years we were totally ignored by the world.”