The Vision for Libya: Tourism to Play a Significant Role

Ahmed Maiteeg, General Manager of Thobacts Hotel and Managing Director of DAA Construction & Engineering, talks about the vision for Libya.

“I would like Libya to become a mix of all of these visions that you mentioned. We are an Arabic Islamic country and we are in the middle of the world, we should have good relations with all countries and there is no reason why we shouldn’t have good relations with all the Mediterranean countries around us. Secondly, I think Libya should be able to exceed Dubai, due to its position, the local population, the geographical areas, the 2,000km coastline; you name it, we have it!,” adds Maiteeg.

Maiteeg continues: “The only thing that challenges Libyans over the next ten years is education and renewing the culture of the people. I always say that living is an art, and that the art of living in Libya has to change. Particularly the work culture has to change, it is no longer just about getting your salary at the end of the month, we want people to think about how they can develop and progress in their jobs.”

“I hope Libya will have the chance to become a mix of all these visions, to become a country with a good chance of being one of the leading developing countries in the next 10 years. Tourism is a sector that Libya has not really developed yet at all and currently in Tripoli we have less than 3,000 rooms for guests. I saw a study talking about Libya over the next 10 years that said that we should have more than 100,000 rooms in Tripoli alone. This is one major issue; tourism here is not developed at all. We also have to develop our oil sector. Libya has had one of the lowest investment rates in terms of developing the local oil area in the Middle East. I think if you compare us to Saudi Arabia or the Gulf States, we are developing less than 30% of the income from the oil sectors. Libya has a lot of potential, whether the Libyan people are able to deliver it is what we are going to see over the next few years. As a Libyan I have a lot of faith in our people and in what they can do,” he concludes.