Supporting cultural tourism in Libya – a brief history

Abstract

Tourists come to Libya for two reasons: to admire the antiquities and/or to experience the natural wonders of the desert. The flow of tourists in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries has been very variable, depending on political circumstances. As a result, the availability of authoritative guidebooks to the antiquities has also been variable. During the years immediately prior to the 2011 revolution, the Society for Libyan Studies has promoted the publication of new Libya Archaeological Guides, both in English for foreign visitors and (progressively) in Arabic for the benefit of the Libyan population.