Orzala, of RUSI, said that while influencers with Western passports “roam freely, pose for photos and gain online fame,” those privileges are denied to Afghan women, who are barred from schools, jobs or even walking freely in public without being accompanied by male guardians.
There are also moral and ethical dilemmas, she added, because profits from tourism risk indirectly legitimizing and financially sustaining a regime that has institutionalized “gender apartheid.”
As for videos from influencers that show Afghan women smiling in the background, Orzala said, “This should never be confused with contentment or consent to the current reality.”
“This is not cultural exchange; it’s neocolonial tourism dressed up as adventure,” she added.
Visitors to Afghanistan are still in the low thousands as the war-torn country tries to rebuild its image under strict Taliban-run Islamic laws and customs. Nearly 9,000 foreigners visited in 2024, while nearly 3,000 visited in the first three months of this year, according to a report from The Associated Press.
Along with travel influencers, some tourism companies are creating jaw-dropping videos that have since been reshared by Taliban accounts on social media in a bid to attract more visitors.
One outlandish 50-second video made by vlogger Yosaf Aryubi begins with an eerie scene of three people with bags over their heads, presumed to be held hostage by the men standing behind them, who are dressed like the Taliban with rifles slung over their shoulders.
“We have one message for America,” one of the armed men says, before pulling the bag off one of the hostages, only to reveal a grinning tourist who gives a thumbs-up and says, “Welcome to Afghanistan!”
The video then cuts to male tourists diving into scenic lakes and walking through waterfalls, and even holding M4 rifles that are revealed to be replicas.
Not every influencer sees Afghanistan in that way. In another video, YouTuber Nolan Saumure, whose channel Seal on Tour has 650,000 subscribers, acknowledges that he only interacted with men during his trip there.
In a 35-minute video titled “Afghanistan Has Too Much Testosterone,” Saumure spins the camera around to show a large crowd of Afghan men swarming him.
“It’s a complete sausage fest in here,” he says.