Tourism In Pakistan
By: Seemi Aslam
Tags: Positivity, Tourism, Pakistan, Emerging Pakistan, Peace

Pakistan is surreal and enchanting glory of nature it has diverse culture and colors the mighty himalayas, Hindukush ranges, karakoram, and most spiritual and ancient places

Destinations

In the south you will find the ancient cities while in the north there are rugged mountains and in between there are highly populated cities where temperature is increasingly high. Pakistan is rich in tourist destinations and provides a diverse range of choices for tourists. There are number of UNESCO heritage sites in Pakistan like Mohenjo Daro, takht.e.bahi, forts like baltit fort, altit fort, rohtas fort and historical monuments like shalamar gardens lahore, noor mahal bahawalpur, makli thatta and taxila.

Pakistan is the land of natural wonders and adventure like desert jeep safaris, water rafting, trekking and mountaineering and scuba diving at indus river attracts tourists from all over the world.

There are 108 peaks above 7,000 meters and five out of fourteen highest peaks in the world present in Pakistan.

Pakistan has varied fauna and flora, alpine meadows and permanent snowline coniferous forests down the sub mountain scrub, the vast indus plain merging into the great desert, the coastline and wetlands all provide rich variety of vegetations provide for wildlife, 10 out of 18 mammalian order are present in pakistan with the species from world’s smallest mammals, the mediterranean pygmy shrew, to the largest mammal, blue whale.

Pakistan has an abundant spiritual heritage like Shah Rukn e Alam Darbar Multan, Baba Farid Ganj Shakar’s Shrine Pakpattan, Katas Raj Temples Chakwal, Gurdwara Punja Sahib Hasan abdal and Gurdwara Nankana sahib.

Pakistan has different ethnicities like there are Punjabis, sindhis, saraikis, pashtuns, baltis, muhajirs, brahuis, makranis, hazaras, kalash people and kashmiris coming from the regions as close as indus and as far as africa.

People in Pakistan are famous for their generosity and hospitality. They love big gatherings, meetups, adventures and tours.

Scope of tourism

Pakistan witnessed marked increase in tourism of over 70% in year 2018 because of several reasons one of which is improved security situations

Pakistan has declared as the third potential adventure destination for 2020

“The number of foreigners who visited Pakistan in 2018 on tourist visas stands at 17,823, which was 10,476 in 2017,” according to the data released by Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC).

Overall, 60,070 foreigners visited tourist attractions in the country during the past six years, especially to the mesmerizing places located in the northern areas

Pakistan managed to generate revenue from travelers from the slogan “its beautiful, its Pakistan”

Pakistan is working hard to eradicate the negative image and give the message of “Emerging Pakistan” to promote tourism and to convey its a safe hospitable place

There is an increased rate of tourism in swat valley which is also known as the Switzerland of Pakistan. Major cities like Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad are known for business travel

Leisure is the main reason for domestic travellers and the other reason is high temperature during summers.

Hotels and Motels

Pakistan has a large hospitality industry which serves equally in northern areas. There are big names like Pearl continental hotels, Serena, Nishat, Marriott and Luxus grand hotels.

Hotels are experiencing an increase in growth and occupancy rate and this trend is expected to continue because of increased investment and tourism promotion policies of the present government.

Cuisines of Pakistan

Pakistani food is known for its flavors and spices and it also has wide variety of cuisines, includes punjabi cuisine, kashmiri cuisine, balochi cuisine, indian subcontinent cuisine, lahori cuisine, carribean cuisine, karachi cuisine, north indian cuisine, pakistani chinese cuisine, kalash cuisine and sindhi cuisine.

Crafts and Culture

When you travel from one province to another you will experience variety and sweep. There is intensity in every corner of every village where every mural is embellished From architecture, so ancient, yet so astonishingly elaborate that even the most modern visitor can’t help but look in awe. Women wear stunning jewelry and clothes with bright colors and prints.

Some of these are truck art, earthen pots, glazed tiles, cotton garments, khussa, peshawari chappal, carpets, wood carvings, handmade jewelry, camel lamps.

Breathtakingly Beautiful Kashmir

Kashmir is said to be the heaven on earth. Kashmir is the beautiful poetry of God, which is the perfect blend of happiness and peace. The valley never fails to amaze tourists.

These are some of the places of tourists attraction in kashmir

Ratti gali lake

Mangla dam and fort

Pir chinasi

Banjosa lake

Nergola and dhani waterfall

Neelum river

Arang kel

Toli peer

Leepa valley

Neelum valley

Kohala bridge

Mirpur old city ruins

Neelum jhelum power plant

Ramkot fort

Gurez valley

Red fort

Quaid.e.azam tourist lodge

Rawalakot

Challenges faced by tourism industry

Insufficient private sector investment

Lack of modern infrastructure

Telecommunication problems

Underdeveloped hospitality sector

Implementation of policies

Lack of human resource development