Tourism surges in Somalia despite Al Shabaab threat

US tourists Richard and Sheryl interact with local youth on their walk on Lido beach during a guided tour of tourist attractions in Mogadishu on November 10, 2025. [AFP]

Children run in turquoise water, hawkers tout wares on white sands, and families laugh as tourists disembark from small boats -- but it's not some tropical island, it's Somalia's capital Mogadishu.

"I didn't really tell my family where I was going," said Sheryl, from the United States, after walking along Lido Beach in the city.