16. Libya: 6,250 visitors
You must have already noticed a pattern in this list, and an obvious one at that. War torn? Civil distress? Tourists aren’t going. This is the same for Libya, which though it is the seventeenth largest country in the world, only sees about 6,250 visitors each year. Those that dare brave the unrest discover mind-blowing attractions like Leptis Magna, which was a major city of the Roman Empire, and Cyrene, founded by the Greeks in the seventh century, which is still a Libyan archeological site today. As only ten percent of the country is not unbearably dry desert, most visitors tend to head to more northern regions on the Mediterranean sea, where the climate is more manageable.
17. Sierra Leone: 44,000 tourists
On the west coast of Africa is Sierra Leone, where around 44,000 tourists visit each year. To get there travelers must face high—and rough— seas to and from the only international airport which is in Freetown, the country’s capital. When there though, there is so much to explore and discover like the Outamba-Kilimi National Park, where one can see elephants and thriving forest life, the Banana Islands for scuba diving, and Tiwai Island, a wildlife refuge, to name a few. Granted, that recent Ebola outbreak didn’t do much for their tourism PR.
18. Marshall Islands: 4,600 tourists
Think about your dream fishing vacation, now multiply that by a hundred. Boasting over one thousand individual islands and islets, Marshall Islands is chock full of expert fishermen and navigators, as many of the inhabitants’ depend on the sea to make their living. American visitors can feel especially at home as the local currency is the US dollar. The 4,600 or so visitors that make the trip each year can be wowed by the world’s largest shark sanctuary. However, while this seems like a dream for vacationers who love being near the water, a few things have made it low on the list of must-visit destinations. These include the fact that it is the world’s most endangered country because of flooding caused by climate change, and radioactivity is a concern, as in the past it was the site for the largest US nuclear weapons test ever. Not exactly real selling features for their tourist brochures.
