Libya Turns Away Tourists
Cruise Ship Passengers Denied Port Of Call
P & O Cruises M/V Artemis - November 13, 2007
Date: November 13, 2007
Cruise Bruise: Port Denial Of Entry
Bruise Location: Tripoli, Libya
Cruise Line: P & O Cruises
Ship: Artemis
Details:
In a sudden move that had no warning, Libya has begun to turn away visitors arriving by air and sea, effectively shutting down their borders.
Cruise ship passengers onboad the P & O Artemis found this out on Tuesday when they arrived in Tripoli and were told they could not enter because they did not have a Arabic translation of their passport. This requirement had never placed on visitors before, and came right out of the blue. IOt has been deemed a near impossible requirement for western tourists,
Switzerland has lodged a formal complaint to Libya after about 40 air passengers on board a Swiss carrier were denied entry to Tripoli on Sunday.
170 passengers on board a charter flight run by France's Air Mediterranee were also turned away this weekend.
A P&O spokeswoman said the vessel was heading to its next destination, Malta, earlier than scheduled.
Passenger on Artemis had embarked on the cruise from Southhampton, United Kingdom. They are on a 25-night cruise that included port of calls at Ibiza, Naupila, Piraeus, Heraklion Gr, Rhodes, Limassol, Beirut, Port Said, Tripoli, Malta, La Goulette, and Lisbon.
The United Nations only lifted sanctions against Libya in 2003 and since Libya has been trying to reinvent itself as a tourist destination. This week's actions bring doubts about what the world might see next form Libya. Something is going on, and it is not good.
This past September Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's son, Seif al-Islam came up with a plan to protect their archaeological sites and pristine coastline. This could be a sign of the times, as Seif al-Islam begins to make executive decisions on how the country will create revenue.
Perhaps there is some 'other' reason Libya doesn't want tourist roaming the about the country.
The condo cruise ship, The World, is due in Tripoli next week. It will be interesting to see if they manage to disembark.
