Foreign tour operators hail Pakistan as one of the safest tourist destination in the world

Foreign tour operators hail Pakistan as one of the safest tourist destination in the world

The tourism industry of Pakistan is probably the most severely hit entity in the war on Terror, which has practically jeopardized the ambitious plans of local tour operators and porters who have been mercilessly ignored by the government since long. Home
of some of the mightiest of mountain ranges in the world, namely Karakorum, Hindukush and Himalayas, Pakistan has the honour of having five of the 14 eight-thousand-metre peaks in the world, commonly known as the “8000ers”, effectively putting it on the map
of the climbing expeditions from across the world.

The northern areas of the country, now a designated province called Gilgit-Baltistan, has been one f the most peaceful tourist spots in the world. As the world peace plunged in turmoil after the horrendous 9/11, the industry, although fairly smaller in size
as compared to its neighbor Nepal, went spiraling down as the foreign tours and expeditions started giving a cold shoulder to the country. Following Osama Bin Laden’s famous hunt-and-kill mission by the US marines further pushed the industry into abyss of
darkness and obscurity.   

But many of the mountaineers and climbers, who have been to this part of the world in their attempts to scale the notorious K2 and Nanga Parbat, continue to hold a different opinion.

“I have a common response to the often asked questions about security and political stability: In 15 years only two climbers/trekkers/tourists have been harmed in the Karakoram region,” said Field Touring Alpines (FTA) director Dave Hancock. “Moreover, both
were the result of botched robberies in very remote areas, and while the victims were travelling without any local support or guides,” he added.

It’s a fairly a settled fact acknowledged by most of the sane elements all over the world, that the country normally gets more than its deserved share of “bad-media”. The Gilgit-Baltistan province is the far-flunged north-eastern province of the country
and the giant Hindukush effectively separates the province from the restive western part of the country. The people are not just friendly and co-operative, but have a distinct tradition of honouring and respecting guests.

“I would suggest all those who are contemplating a visit to the Karakoram this year to go,” Hancock remarked. “Not only will they find it safer than walking around your average regional US city at night, but you will be bringing to the local porters and
people of the Hunza and Baltistan regions a great benefit during a time of significantly decreased tourism in the region.”

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=2179

Posted by Naveed A Bari on Oct 31 2011. Filed under National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry