Cities such as Timbuktu, Djenné, Mopti and the capital city of Bamako have traditionally been huge draws for tourists from the U.S., Britain and France. But now they sit empty, looking like ghost towns as the “toubabs” — as the Malians call white people — are advised by their governments to stay away.
As the world hears reports of political instability in countries such as Mali, most of the coverage focuses on armed conflicts, people fleeing their homes and governments being toppled, but not enough attention has been given to an equally important sector of the Malian economy: Tourism.
The religious-based campaign waged by Islamist rebels put them in control of two-thirds of the country, by some estimates. Cities such as Timbuktu, Djenné, Mopti and the capital city of Bamako have traditionally been huge draws for tourists from the U.S., Britain and France. But now they sit empty, looking like ghost towns as the “toubabs” — as the Malians call white people — are advised by their governments to stay away.
In Djenné, widely considered one of the oldest and most beautiful towns in West Africa, thousands of tourists came every year to see the fascinating mud-brick architecture. Now nearly every restaurant and hotel in Djenné is shuttered. From a peak of 30,000 tourists in 2005, there were only a couple dozen tourists in the past year, devastating the thousands of people in the town whose living is connected to the tourism industry.
“We can’t feed our families,” Badou Magai, a guide in Djenné for the past 10 years, told the Canadian-based Globe and Mail. “We’re suffering greatly. Everyone has gone away.”
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