Tourism historical Overview of Pakistan: Quite Often depicted in the western media as a country of hardline Islamic fundamentalists, terrorist

training camps, subjugated women and cricket scandals, Pakistan could seem a hard sell to the potential tourist. We rarely hear of the country's fascinating diversity, its well-kept Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist shrines, the dizzingly high mountains or the impressive sheer glaciers.

Without a sliver of doubt, Pakistan is indeed one of the most beautiful and breathtaking regions in the world. With main attractions like the Mohenjo-daro, Harappa, Taxila sites along with Himalayan hill stores, mountain peaks going beyond 7000 miles, ancient architecture in Chitral and Hunza valleys, imposing domes of mosques in Lahore and Multan, the intriguing civilization of the Kalash people, the site of battle by Alexander The Great in Punjab and so much more, Pakistan has a lot to offer the curious eyes of a tourist. It is reported that before the global economic crisis, 500,000 tourists flocked to the country annually. This, however, has decreased tremendously post2008 when visitors reported the land to be unsafe and highly volatile due to the militancy in the country.

The top five tourist sites in Pakistan include Taxila, Lahore, The Karakoram Highway, Karimabad and the Lake of Saiful Malook. In order to rebrand Pakistan back to its positive image, the Prime Minister introduced a campaign called Visit Pakistan in 2007, which involved a list of festivities related to religion, culture, society, regional sports, craft shows and much more. The World Economic

Forums Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report shows that Pakistan remains among the top 25% of countries ranked as most attractive for tourism purposes.

Pakistan's top Tourist Spots

Taxila: Just a short drive from Islamabad, this is one of the most significant archaeological sites in the world. There are about 18 locations in this area which are declared as world heritage sites, but only 5% of them have been excavated.

This is the region from where Buddhism travelled to the far east - and Persians, Greeks and Hindus all subsequently left their mark. You can watch the sun set from the remains of a Buddhist monastery or wander through the streets of an excavated Persian city in the knowledge that there are two older ones buried below.

Lahore: Every Pakistani you meet will remind you of the old adage that if you haven't been to Lahore you haven't lived. The old city looks like a medieval costume drama, with horses, donkeys and ox-drawn carts transporting everything from stacks of hay to blocks of ice. In the narrow streets of the spice market, huge hessian sacks contain all manner of extravagant herbal cures, including died hair from corn on the cob for kidney pain, gum crystals for back pain and tree bark

for flu. There are also mounds of chalky green henna and blue clothes dye "to turn white shirts into school uniform."

The incredible Mughal buildings of Lahore Fort and Badshahi mosque - one of the world's largest - are must-sees; eat dinner on the terrace of the converted Haveli Cocco's Den for a floodlit bird's-eye view. Meanwhile, New Lahore, with its Liberty market and numerous coffee shops (albeit serving Nescafe), presents the vibrant, modern face of Pakistan.

The Karakorum Highway: Opened in 1986, the KKH, as it is fondly referred to, is the highest road in the world, winding through the Karakorum mountain range and connecting to China through the Khunjerab Pass at an altitude of nearly 5000 metres. It is the only way to the tourist attractions of the Northern Areas, but negotiating its twists and bends around unprotected sheer drops is an adventure in its own right.

The road connects many villages whose only sign of modernisation is the sponsored paintwork of Pepsi and Nestle that decorate the shops. Along the way you also pass several hundred spectacularly painted Bedford trucks. These are one of the defining features of Pakistan, costing up to three years' wages to adorn and featuring intricate designs of birds and trees. Several hundred metres below, the Indus thunders past grey silt beaches.

Karimabad:

In the lush Hunza valley, the sleepy village of Karimabad is a tourist oasis. The street that winds up to the old Baltit fort is crammed with shops selling local handicrafts such as shawls and carpets, along with local dried fruit, antiques and gemstones.

The people here are Ismaili, which means they welcome music and dancing, and are partial to Hunza water - a spirit made from mulberries - or their homemade Hunza wine. There is also a cafecum-bookshop called Caf de Hunza that serves real espresso: a treat for caffeine-starved visitors.

Come in spring for the blossom, or autumn to see the rooftops lined with huge rush trays of apricots, tomatoes, apples and spinach drying in the sunshine. A four-hour trek along the irrigation channel that winds up through the village and hugs the rockface up the mountains will take you up to Ultar meadow, where a small makeshift campsite offers views of Ultar peak and glacier.

Lake Saiful Mulk: An exhilarating jeep drive from the resort town of Narran (bear in mind that "resort" in Pakistan means a village with a few hotels), lie the still waters and snow-capped mountains of Lake Saiful Mulk.

It is no surprise that there is a story of fairies and princes associated with the area that can be recounted by a shawl-wearing guide for a few hundred rupees. And do give in to one of the horse-trek touts: it only costs a couple of pounds for an hour and you will feel as if you have been transported into another world.

Challenges:

July 2010 floods that made around 22 million people homeless in Pakistan also collapsed Tourism Industry in the country that was already becoming fragile due to bad law and order situation in the country. Swat Valley that geared up domestic tourism after a lull 2 years due to terrorism again faced total disaster due to heavy rainfalls and floods. Around 101 hotels on the bank of Swat River flushed out in floods because these hotels were constructed on the bank of the river against the law of nature and law of land. Around 277 people including 6 domestic tourist lost their lives in Swat valley. Thousands of tourists were stranded in Kalam and Bahrain areas affected by the devastating rain-triggered floods. There was no electricity in the entire district for 14 days and no road network left to evacuate tourists therefore Pakistan Army provided helicopters to airlift them to Islamabad. . All business activities and factories are lying closed in Swat.

Kalam in Khybar Pakhtunkhawa Pakistan, was a popular tourist destination famous for its terrain, view and natural beauty. The worst flood in memory has wreaked havoc to the tourist facilities and left locals wandering about their future. There were only two sources of income of Kalam. One is agriculture and other is tourism, both are destroyed and seriously affected,said a resident. Kalam had some four hundred hotels and restaurants before the floods. Dozens of

which have been swept away in the raging water. Most of the major hotels were either on the river bed or overlooking it from the edges of River Swat. The water swept dams, swallowed fertile land and torn down bridges effectively dividing the Valley into two.

The floods that have caused massive devastation across the country struck at a time when tourism was in full swing, especially in KhyberPakhtunkhwa and Gilgit Baltistan. Damages inflicted on tourism infrastructure in these areas are estimated to run in billions. Apart from claiming so many human lives, the floods took serious toll on hotels, motels, bridges, roads, houses. It rendered thousands of people jobless, who were affiliated with tourism. Gilgit Baltistan and Kaghan valley also affected by floods and rain and collapse of infrastructure. Karakuram Highway that was already blocked due to Aliabad landslide now totally shutdown for traffic. Balakot-Kaghan road is also impassable. Ecotourism Society Pakistan (ESP) estimation indicated around 550 million $ damaged to private sector. That include postponement of confirmed tours, damage to property and transportation. ESP submitted a detail damage report to world media and recommendations how tourism industry can cope with such disaster. American movie star Angelina Jolie who helped Pakistan in 2005 earthquake again came forward to help Pakistan and visited floods hit areas on 7 September 2010. She appealed to the international community to provide aid needed to help the country recover from its worst natural disaster. 22 million people affected by the floods. The United Nations issued an appeal for $460 million in emergency funds on 11 Aug., but only $294 million, or 64 percent, has been received so far, and donations have more or less dried up in recent days.