A Ski Holiday in Afghanistan?

A ski holiday in Afghanistan? At first, that sounds like a contradiction in terms. But according to a report by „Welt Online“, it is in fact a completely serious project intended to revive tourism in Afghanistan, which has all but disappeared since the outbreak of war.

The Koh-e-Baba Mountains, in the heart of Afghanistan’s Bamiyan Province, offer ideal conditions for skiing and snowboarding: the slopes are covered in fine powder snow. Until the Soviet troops invaded in 1979, when the turmoil of war that continues to this day began to plague the country, many holidaymakers visited Bamiyan each year. It lies 230 kilometres northwest of the capital, Kabul. Now the aim is to bring holidaymakers back to the region and generate income for the impoverished province: tourists are to be enticed by the prospect of a ski holiday in Afghanistan. Bamiyan is already considered one of Afghanistan’s safest provinces.

To make Bamiyan Province “ready” for ski holidays, an expert from Italy was brought in: ski instructor Ferdinando Rollando (49) arrived in Bamiyan Province, Afghanistan, at the beginning of the year. The Italian is an absolute expert when it comes to ski holidays: Rollando spent two decades working as a ski instructor in the Alps. Despite his family’s objections, he was persuaded to take part in the project. The ambitious project was launched by an agency that aims to promote local tourism in Afghanistan through international development aid; the agency is also Rollando’s employer.

The goal is not only to attract tourists, but also to create jobs: more than 30 local people are currently being trained under Rollando’s guidance, so they can later work in mountain safety, as guides and as ski instructors.

Everyone involved is approaching the project with great enthusiasm. As a first step, the aim is to get foreigners currently working in Afghanistan for aid organisations, embassies and other institutions interested in taking a ski holiday in Bamiyan. And who knows? Perhaps in a few years, holidaymakers from Germany, Italy or the USA will once again come to Afghanistan for a holiday—it would be a welcome boost for the impoverished country and its people, so tormented by war.