The Taliban has recently launched a tourism promotional video to attract American tourists to Afghanistan, prompting intense backlash and dominating global news headlines. The 50-second video, which has gone viral since July 2025 since its release, is the bold move by the Taliban to rebrand Afghanistan as a tourism spot in the bizarre blend of dark humor, war imagery, and natural beauty. While the video has generated lots of buzz, it has also sparked bitter backlash and essential questions about the appropriateness of promoting tourism in Afghanistan, where the situation is still unstable, mired by reports of human rights abuses, and where security threats remain.
The video opens with a mock hostage scene, deliberately mimicking the format of extremist execution videos. Armed Taliban fighters are shown standing behind three kneeling figures with bags over their heads, as one fighter ominously states,
“We have one message for America.”
However, the scene turns unexpectedly when the bag is removed from one of the figures, revealing a grinning Caucasian man who gives a thumbs-up and exclaims,
“Welcome to Afghanistan!”
This jarring shift sets the tone for the rest of the video, which transitions into a surreal montage of Western visitors seemingly enjoying themselves alongside Taliban fighters. The montage includes a series of striking and often disturbing images:
- A man doing pull-ups on the barrel of a destroyed tank.
- Another is swimming in a lake while carrying an assault rifle.
- Footage of an M4 rifle stamped “Property of US Government,” with someone off-camera joking, “It’s not even on safety.”
- Western tourists dining at restaurants, wearing traditional Afghan clothing, and being warmly welcomed by locals.
The juxtaposition of these lighthearted scenes with military imagery has led many to describe the video as “creepy,” “disturbing,” and “darkly ironic.”
The viral video is part of a broader effort by the Taliban to promote tourism in Afghanistan since regaining power in August 2021. The group has been actively courting foreign visitors as both an economic necessity and a tool for gaining international legitimacy. Deputy Minister of Tourism Qudratullah Jamal has emphasized the Taliban’s hospitality, stating,
“The Afghan people are warm and welcoming and wish to host tourists from other countries and engage with them.”
The Taliban’s tourism strategy has shown measurable results:
- Foreign tourist numbers have steadily increased from 691 visitors in 2021 to over 7,000 in 2023.
- Recent data indicates that approximately 14,500 foreigners have visited Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover, with most visitors coming from Russia, China, Turkey, and Middle Eastern countries.
Despite these numbers, the Taliban’s attempts to present Afghanistan as a safe and welcoming destination have been met with skepticism, particularly in light of the country’s ongoing security challenges and restrictive governance.
The video has drawn widespread condemnation from international observers, who view it as a form of soft propaganda designed to whitewash the Taliban’s human rights record. Critics argue that the upbeat tone of the video stands in stark contrast to the reality of life under Taliban rule, where severe restrictions on women—including bans on education and employment—have been widely condemned as “gender apartheid” by human rights groups.
Afghan researcher Nazifa Haqpal has described Taliban rule as “dark, bleak, and ugly,” noting that the group’s manipulation of social media influencers and tourists—who are not bound by journalistic ethics—serves primarily as propaganda rather than genuine hospitality. Western governments have maintained strong travel advisories against visiting Afghanistan:
- The U.S. State Department currently issues a Level 4 “Do Not Travel” advisory, warning that “all areas of Afghanistan are unsafe due to civil unrest, crime, terrorism, risk of wrongful detention, kidnapping, and limited health facilities.”
- The U.S. Embassy in Kabul suspended operations in 2021, and the government explicitly states that “U.S. citizens are targets of kidnapping and hostage-taking.”
- Other Western nations have issued similar warnings, underscoring the persistent dangers.
These concerns are not unfounded. In May 2024, the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), a rival militant group, killed six people, including three Spanish tourists, in Bamiyan province. This attack highlighted the ongoing security risks that contradict the Taliban’s narrative of a stable and secure Afghanistan.
Since retaking control of the country, Afghanistan has faced international isolation, leaving much of its 41 million population in poverty and with limited opportunities for foreign investment. Tourism is seen as a vital revenue source that can benefit multiple layers of society, and the Taliban has expressed optimism that the sector could “evolve into a large economy” with “significant benefits.
The video’s release coincides with the introduction of new Russian travel packages to Afghanistan, costing between $2,500 and $2,800. This development highlights the growing international interest in visiting Afghanistan, particularly from countries that have maintained diplomatic or economic ties with the Taliban, despite the ongoing safety concerns.
