Tour Overview

Armed youths under the control of the Misrata brigade patrol Tawergha, a town once inhabited by black Libyans who were forced to flee after the revolution.

The victory of Libya’s rebels over Gaddafi’s forces has been welcomed among western governments. At arms length NATO and its allies have managed to support a popular movement against an unsavoury leader, and keep the Arab world on side.

But recent events point to a deeply disturbing situation. Clashes between competing brigades threaten to undermine progress on a new constitutional settlement.

In just a few short months Libya has been turned into one of the most heavily armed countries in the world. Political leadership – at local or central level – is extremely weak. While there is a huge sense of optimism among ordinary people, nobody yet has the clear authority to promote a disarmament process or mark out a clear path to a new constitutional settlement.

This is not only a challenge for the Libyans but also the Western and Arab sponsors of the revolution. Who can they engage with to help the country build a new state?

Our tour explores the fall out from the conflict and asks how best can a peaceful and durable political settlement can be achieved.

Day 1 Gaddafi’s Libya + Ordinary Needs

Orientation + Exploring the capital.

Lunch in city centre

Tripoli Neighbourhood

We hear their account of the revolution and the liberation in late August. Crucially we tackle people’s immediate needs.

We meet local family, local judge, imam, and a community council as well as some of the “Katibas” or military units to assess all these concerns.

Dinner with International Officials

Overnight in Tripoli.

Day 2 Tripoli and Misrata (and Leptis Magna)

Visits to Gaddafi’s palaces, facilities, and bunkers to give insight into how the family lived

 (Stop by Leptis Magna – Septinius Severus’s City  followed by Lunch)

Misrata provides significant insight into obstacles that confront the country as it tries to rebuild itself after the war.

The Misrata Brigade – What it wants now

Weapons collected from a Tripoli suburb. The huge number of weapons leftover from the revolution remains one of the biggest obstacles to long term stability.

Misrata is controlled by at least four main militia groups and is dominated by three large family groupings. Its fighters were at the forefront of fighting – both in Tripoli, locally and most recently Sirte. They will want a significant say in any creation of government.

- Brief tour of city with brigade members – description of conflict in the city.

- Meetings with various military commanders and leading families.

- A look at how people are trying to rebuild their lives.

Overnight in Misrata

Day 3 Misrata and Tawergha

While the substantial majority of Libyans appear to support the revolution, the treatment of groups suspected to be sympathetic to Colonel Gadaffi is arbitrary.

Minority groups are also being targeted. To the south of Misrata, lies Tawergha a town of some 35,000 people who are the descendents of black slaves. The entire population has fled, and many of them have been picked up off the streets of Tripoli and imprisoned.

-  Briefing on prisons

Visit to Tawergha in the afternoon.

Overnight in Tripoli

Day 4  Tripoli and Mellita Oil Works

Day trip to understand oil sector.

Days 5+6 + 7  Tripoli for Government and International briefings

Briefings and visits with the following:

-       Tripoli Brigade – its take on the security situation.

-       UNHCR

-       Tripoli’s NTC leadership – an assessment of immediate needs.

-       Ministry of Finance – Oil industry and recovery of overseas assets, New Media –plus a visit NTC’s own paper plus more independent ones.

-       Transitional Finance Initiative on banking and financial needs and situation.

-      Briefing with major international think tank.

-       Meeting with European diplomats trying to support the transition process.

Day 8

Final debriefings and departures for airport.

Contact Us for further details about the trip and price.

Political Tours clients, Alastair Muriel and Samantha Holcroft, joined the show and spoke vividly about their time in North Korea.  Our next tour starts on September 9th.

Click this link in orange to listen to the programme.

Or copy and paste this link in your browser:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b016vx70

January, 2012 Kate Adie returns to Bosnia this spring to revisit some of the scenes of her reporting during the conflict in former Yugoslavia.

The BBC’s former Chief News Correspondent joins a range of diplomats, analysts and journalists leading tours that bring travellers face to face with the world of current affairs.

The Bosnia and Serbia tour will be lead by Louis Sell, a former US Foreign Service officer who helped negotiate the Dayton Peace Accords. He has also writing an acclaimed biography of Slobodan Milosevic.

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During the Bosnia tour from 12 to 18 September, Miss Adie will be revisiting the scenes of some of her reports made during the war in Bosnia in the early 1990s.

With insight from her and other experts on the region, this tour will look at how the lives of Bosnians and Serbs have changed since then. The timing is poignant as it coincides with the recent arrest of the leading Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect, Ratko Mladic. Bosnia is also facing an ongoing constitutional crisis as Serbian politicians have threatened to create their own breakaway state.

“I was fascinated by the place. It was such a complex and intense kind of conflict,” says Miss Adie. “It was a European war with fighting taking place in the most domestic of surroundings, in villages and suburban housing.”

Miss Adie presents Radio 4’s “From Our Own Correspondent,” and is the author of four bestselling books. She reported extensively on the Yugoslav wars that broke out twenty years ago this summer.

In addition to Miss Adie, leading local analysts will provide updates on the political situation in Bosnia and Serbia today, while ordinary people speak about how their own lives have changed. The 7 day trip for up to 18 people also includes a visit to the Serbian capital Belgrade, as well as visits to the war crimes courts in both countries.

Political Tours trips will typically comprise 12 – 18 guests over 7 days.

For further information on the Bosnia trip or to book visit www.politicaltours.com or call Nicholas Wood on 07855 266 151

Background Notes

Political Tours was created by former New York Times Balkans correspondent Nicholas Wood. Before working with the New York Times he reported for the BBC, The Guardian and Washington Post in the Balkans and Middle East. Wood spent much of his time in the region covering the hunt for leading war crimes suspects Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic.

The company is the first tour operator dedicated exclusively to news and politics. Destinations include North Korea, Egypt, Ethiopia and closer to home, Northern Ireland. The tours combine visits with stays in good hotels and dining, as well as meetings with key decision makers and analysts.

“We want to give people the opportunity to learn about issues and places in the news with some of the best experts in the field,” said Wood.

The company has been working privately with academic institutions and think tanks for the past two years. This is the first time it has opened its tours up to the public. It does not cover active war-zones.

Speakers in their tours feature leading experts in each region: Tim Judah, The Economist’s Balkans correspondent, James Hoare, former Chargés d’affaires in North Korea, and Neil MacFarlane, Professor of International Relations at Oxford University.

Wood explains in an interview with the online web magazine IdeasMensch how the company was set up.

Nicholas Wood, standing in Pristina. This photograph was taken on top of a half built block of flats. "There's a huge drop just behind me and i'm trying desperately not to look nervous!"

Former New York Times correspondent, Nick Wood, set up the world’s first tour company dedicated to current affairs after a decade of working as a reporter in the Balkans. Political Tours was inspired by his work as a foreign correspondent and his desire to give people an opportunity to explore the news at first-hand.

The UK based company looks at pivotal regions in international affairs such as North Korea, the Middle East, the Caucasus and the Balkans. Soon it will explore issues closer to their base near Oxford. These include Scotland’s drive for independence, and the UK’s economic crisis.

Political Tours gives people the opportunity to meet the communities affected and put questions to politicians and top analysts. It’s a counter-point to a world where twitter and blogs reign, and serious newspapers are under pressure. The company is also part of a new trend in travel that puts greater emphasis on life-changing or challenging experiences.

Their clients cover a huge spectrum of people – from inner-city kids wanting to learn lessons from conflict zones, to news editors and politicians wanting to learn about new regions. Increasingly their clients are people who just have a passion for current affairs. Nick’s basic premise was “if you have can have history and art tours, why can’t you have political tours?”

Political Tours also works with businesses that want to understand key political and economic trends in a new market, but want do it in a way that gives them a real feel for the country.

Apart from his work with the NYT, Nick has worked with the BBC, Washington Post, Guardian and Observer. High (and low) points of his reporting career include tracking down war crime suspects and losing an armored Landrover to a tank.

What are you working on right now?

We are setting up a tour in Bosnia with Kate Adie, probably Britain’s most famous foreign correspondent from the last 30 years. She will be re-visiting some of the places she reported from. Bosnian journalists, and international officials will be updating us on the latest in the country, which is in an ongoing political crisis, with Bosnia’s Serbs still pushing to create their own state.

What does your typical day look like?

That’s a tough one. It can be very varied. We spend a lot of time talking with teams in each country, setting up the tours. I’m often on the phone with clients or meeting them (usually in London). We also like to keep up-to-date with international affairs and attend foreign-policy forums. When not in the UK we are out in the field setting up our tours.

3 trends that excite you?

- Niche tourism – people are fed up with ordinary holidays.

- Café and club scene in Kosovo – Pristina has to be the ugliest city in Europe but its clubs and music venues are as good as anywhere in Europe and more edgy.

- The economic crisis as an engine for change: the current climate really makes people think how their money can go further and how businesses can become more efficient.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I’m very visual. We essentially look at political ideas or developments and try and turn them into an experience you can see and feel. At the same time we don’t want to be voyeuristic. We combine these experiences with analysis from experts and meetings with local people.

What inspires you?

First-rate serious reporting – fewer places do it, and news is increasingly opinion driven. I hope what we do is substantive, stimulating and a counterweight to the blogosphere.

What is one mistake you’ve made, and what did you learn from it?

Trusting the ethnic Albanian guerilla who told us where to put our armored vehicle during a lull in fighting during this six month conflict, (Macedonia 2001). One minute later (after stepping out of it) it was in flames, and we were hiding in a ditch. A ton of lessons came out of this one including many about my unsupportive employers at the time, (Where’s our kit? Not we’re glad you’re alive). But on a more general scale; if you trust someone to do something make sure they know what they are doing (and assume responsibility for it if it goes wrong)!

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

Set up an outward bounds company in Kosovo or Macedonia. Both are stunning countries with incredible scenery, and people are incredibly hospitable. Great for hiking, climbing, biking and undiscovered – huge local market to tap into as well.

What do you read every day, and why?

A lot of news. The New York Times, Financial Times for great reporting. Sites like Global Dispatches and Current Intelligence for angles and news that don’t get mainstream coverage. Balkan Insight, and Courrier Des Balkans (French) for Balkans coverage and Tim Judah’s twice weekly Eastern Approaches column in the Economist is a must.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read, and why?

Non-business: Gita Serreny’s biography of Albert Speer – an incredible assessment of moral responsibility. On business: Alex Blyth’s “Brilliant Online Marketing.” A great product is nothing if you don’t know how to market it. This was a good start.

What is your favorite gadget, app or piece of software that helps you every day?

Been around for a while but Skype is easily our best used app; phone, video and screen sharing. We work with teams all over the world and love not paying a penny to big phone companies for the privilege.

Three people we should follow on Twitter, and why?

Frans Gerber on @NeonLobster. Great SEO expert and web designer.

@CarlBildt – Sweden’s foreign minister and an honest tweeter. European politics as it happens.

@CJChivers – fellow correspondent from the NYT – techie, ex US marine and gun obsessed, but one of the best war correspondents of our era. See his recent article about Libya’s use of cluster munitions and the spurious counter claims that materialized on the web, a great example of good reporting trumping opinion driven blogs.

Who would you love to see interviewed on IdeaMensch?

Elizabeth Gowing @ElizabethGowing – Founder of the IdeasPartnership in Kosovo. Tireless and selfless, she has inspired thousands of people in the western Balkans to take an interest in their environment – protect local architecture, fight pollution, and help educate the Roma, the downtrodden underclass of the region.

When is the last time you laughed out loud? What caused it?

My daughter told me a school-yard joke that I hadn’t heard for thirty years.

What would you recommend to any new start up?

Sounds dull but shared offices are a brilliant idea. Low costs and the contact with other companies really pay off. Our company has an office in a building that houses web-designers, PR companies, printers and book keepers – the bricks and mortar of most businesses. The crossover of ideas is also a fantastic boost.

How do you balance work with family?

Like many entrepreneurs I am still wrestling with that answer. But I know one thing; we have young kids, and if they’re not happy the business is bound to suffer.

Website http://www.politicaltours.com

Twitter @politicaltours

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Tour Summary

Please call for tour dates. 

8 days 7 nights

£2600.00 pp

Call +44 843 289 2349 or mail info@politicaltours.com to book.

Or call Nicholas Wood on 07855 266 151.

The January 25 Revolution launched in Cairo’s Tahrir Square has had profound implications for the Middle-East, and represents the biggest sea change in international affairs since the fall of the Berlin wall.

Our seven-day tour examines the roots of the revolution and looks at where it is headed now. International and local experts on Egyptian affairs will guide the group throughout.

The key elements are as follows:

The tour will examine Egypt’s “democratic deficit”, the lack of development and autocratic rule – a common element in many Middle-Eastern countries – that fuelled the revolution. We travel to Cairo’s suburbs and a provincial town to see the everyday problems faced by ordinary Egyptians ; corruption, joblessness, and lack of services.

The Mubarak regime: How Egypt has been ruled for the past forty years? We meet with former insiders who explain how the government worked. The tour provides insight into the business elite that thrived on it, and looks at the role of security services, police and military.

We look at the key events leading up to the demonstrations in Tahrir Square – the sparks from Tunisia, and the impact in Egypt. How did protestors organise themselves? What was the role of unions, religious movements, and social media? We meet with leaders who explain how the events unfolded. We also talk with protestors and human rights workers who were arrested and beaten during the uprising.

What next then for Egypt? There is now an uneasy coalition between reformers, the military and religious parties who have competing notions of how the country should be governed. How powerful is the Muslim Brotherhood and what are its aims? As sectarian violence erupts we ask if it can be contained. What will be the likely shape of the future Egyptian government? And how ready are the military to accept a complete transformation to democracy?

These elements are perhaps the hardest to determine as events change from one week to the next. We meet with reformers, members of the army as well as leading international and local analysts who provide their insight into what is happening.

As well as insight into Egypt we get briefings from human rights experts, correspondents and analysts who have been covering events in Libya, Tunisa, Bahrain and Yemen.

This will be an unforgettable tour and will provide unparalleled insight into one of most dramatic developments in current affairs in the last decade.

Costs £2600.00 per person.

Discounts available for students.

Accommodation

The tour will be based in 3-4 star hotels close to Cairo’s Tahrir Square. The hotels all have swimming pools.

All meals and accommodation are included in the tour price.

Travel around and out of Cairo will be in an air-conditioned minibus.

Flights are excluded from the price, and must be booked separately.

The number of participants is restricted to 20. There will be at least two guides with the group at all times.

Level of fitness required: there will be some walking during the tour, but this will not be overly strenuous.

For further details please call Nicholas Wood on +44 7855 266 151 or mail info@politicaltours.com

CONTACT US FOR DETAILS

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Almost sixteen years after he was first indicted for war crimes, including genocide, Ratko Mladic, is finally on trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.  Political Tours examines the legacy that he left behind, and assesses where both Bosnia and Serbia are headed today.

Running for cover. Sarajevo, 1992.

The tour is led by Louis Sell, a former US diplomat who worked on the Dayton peace-accords and served repeatedly in Yugoslavia, will be joining the tour in Sarajevo. Mr. Sell also worked at the Office of the High Representative immediately after the war and is the author of a widely acclaimed biography of Slobodan Milosevic.

He will be joined by Political Tours’ Director and former New York Times Balkans Correspondent, Nicholas Wood.

The tour, which lasts eight days, includes briefings on the political crisis that threatens Bosnia today, as well as the final steps before Mladic’s arrest and what his extradition means to Serbia. It also examines how the issue of war crimes is being tackled in the region – there are visits to war crimes tribunals in Sarajevo and Belgrade. More broadly the tour assesses whether European attempts to stabilise and integrate the region with the EU are working.

Other highlights include:

A tour of Sarajevo’s former front lines, and the tunnel that acted as a conduit for goods in and out during the siege, which is now a popular museum.

A visit to Tito’s bunker complex outside Sarajevo, and only recently opened to the public.

Briefings from leading international officials and local politicians on Bosnia’ s constitutional crisis, and Serbia’s hand over of Mladic.

Briefings on the Srebrenica massacre, including accounts by survivors, and how it ultimately prompted an end to the war.

A visit to the war crimes tribunal where Mladic was held before his transfer to the Hague – The same court has tried numerous other Serb war crimes suspects.

Meetings with nationalists groups critical of Serbia’s co-operation with the tribunal.

Dates

May 19-27 Bosnia + Serbia

7 days and 8 nights

Price

£2400.00 plus single supplement of £250.00

Click this link for full tour details

For further details email info@politicaltours.com, or our director nicholaswood@politicaltours.com ask for the full itinerary and pricing.

June 3, 2011.

Springwise, the website that talent spots entrepreneurial ideas has listed us as their top idea of the week.  Their 8000 spotters regularly nominate businesses they think are breaking new ground in sectors as varied as travel, education and financial services, and we are chuffed to have come out on top in all categories.Here’s their text in full.

“If niche travel tours can be arranged for photographers, sustainability enthusiasts and late sleepers — to name just a few — then why not fans of politics and current affairs? That, indeed, is exactly the purpose of Political Tours, a UK firm that promises to deliver “current affairs at first hand.”

Springwise nominated Political Tours as an innovator in niche travel

“A tour to Northern Ireland planned for this fall, for instance, will trace the steps that led to the historic Good Friday Agreement and ponder what’s next for the region as former foes share power. With two expert BBC correspondents as leaders, the week-long tour will be priced at about GBP 2,700. Other upcoming tours will visit Turkey, Georgia, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Bosnia, Kosovo and Ethiopia, each led by political experts and others with particular insight into the region at hand. Prices typically include accommodation in hotels with private bathrooms along with all meals; airfare is not included. Custom and bespoke tours are also available.”

“Ever wished for a tour focusing on a particular hobby or interest of your own? Then this might be the right time to turn it into a full-fledged business. Keep the niche travel ventures coming!”

www.springwise.com

If you want to talk to Political Tour’s Director, Nicholas Wood, about this or any other story about us, please call him direct on +44 7855 266 151 or email him at nicholaswood@politicaltours.com

The North Korea tour  starts in Beijing with briefings on where the death of Kim Jung Il leaves the Democratic People’s Republic and how his son Kim Jung Un (alternatively spelled Kim Jung Eun) is placed to assume power. Experts give us up-to-date analysis on North-South relations at this critical time, and briefings on the region’s economy and outline possible scenarios for the future.

To publicise North Korea tour we have released a series of adverts in the British political magazines Standpoint and Prospect. We will also be arranging a talk on North Korea ( DPRK ) in London ahead of the tour.

Please email us for further details at info@politicaltours.com, or call Political Tours’ Director, Nicholas Wood on +44 7855 266 151.