Responsible tourism in Pakistan
Everything we spend changes a destination for better or worse, so who we spend it with matters hugely.![]()
In the mid-20th century Pakistan was a fixture on the ‘hippie trail’ between Europe and West Asia, an odyssey that famously inspired the first Lonely Planet guidebook. Many backpackers travelled on a budget, and engulfed in a thick cloud of dope smoke. Today the best way to get your highs in Pakistan is by trekking in the mountainous north – these vistas are more than capable of expanding your mind. The walking and climbing is the stuff of legend in this region, home to some of the tallest peaks on the planet, including K2.
Tourism to Pakistan dropped off steeply from the 1970s when the country’s politics became more conservative and Islamised, but it is now seeing a resurgence. There is a great opportunity here for tourism to grow responsibly, in ways that respect and enhance nature and communities.
“I think tourism will definitely increase here, this is one of the last few frontiers to explore. Here you get the best of Nepal and India without the crowding. But responsible tourism is essential, and that’s why we want to lead by example. Everything we spend changes a destination for better or worse, so who we spend it with matters hugely.” Umer Latif is the co-founder of our partner Beyond the Valley. His inspiration came from a holiday in the Karakoram Mountains, in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region. Wanting a guide but unable to find a reliable tour operator there, he and his wife resolved to set up their own.
We speak about the natural, open hospitality of Pakistani people and how trekking with a local guide lends itself perfectly to cultural exchange, because of the amount of time you spend in each other’s company. “There’s a term called tourist fatigue,” says Umer. “When you have too many visitors coming, for the local people it makes tourism just another job. But right now we don’t have this tourism fatigue, everyone is very excited and happy to see visitors coming, and it makes that cultural exchange feel much less curated, much more authentic. It will change, of course, sooner or later, but that’s why we want to lead by example on responsible principles.”
Tourism to Pakistan dropped off steeply from the 1970s when the country’s politics became more conservative and Islamised, but it is now seeing a resurgence. There is a great opportunity here for tourism to grow responsibly, in ways that respect and enhance nature and communities.
“I think tourism will definitely increase here, this is one of the last few frontiers to explore. Here you get the best of Nepal and India without the crowding. But responsible tourism is essential, and that’s why we want to lead by example. Everything we spend changes a destination for better or worse, so who we spend it with matters hugely.” Umer Latif is the co-founder of our partner Beyond the Valley. His inspiration came from a holiday in the Karakoram Mountains, in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region. Wanting a guide but unable to find a reliable tour operator there, he and his wife resolved to set up their own.
We speak about the natural, open hospitality of Pakistani people and how trekking with a local guide lends itself perfectly to cultural exchange, because of the amount of time you spend in each other’s company. “There’s a term called tourist fatigue,” says Umer. “When you have too many visitors coming, for the local people it makes tourism just another job. But right now we don’t have this tourism fatigue, everyone is very excited and happy to see visitors coming, and it makes that cultural exchange feel much less curated, much more authentic. It will change, of course, sooner or later, but that’s why we want to lead by example on responsible principles.”
People & culture in Pakistan
Image problems
“Pakistan is a huge country,” says Umer, using his fingers to tick off some statistics. “We have 240 million people. We’re the fifth most populous country on Earth. And we have something like 75 different languages. So, when it comes to tourism we’re primed to be one of the great destinations. But our trouble is that we do not have a ‘soft image’ – often the only picture that people get of Pakistan comes from the news, which gives a false impression of life here.”“The main issue is with PR,” agrees Saadia Baber, the founder of our partner Xperience Pakistan. “The tourist board lacks funding and consequently struggles to market the country effectively.” Saadia set up her business as a form of social legacy, to help improve perceptions of Pakistan. She believes that tourism can be a catalyst for change in this respect, and when I speak to her she is keen to tackle the image problem. “People see a poverty-stricken country in the media, but Pakistan is opulent and lavish too. For instance, we have excellent multicultural cuisine, and another of the things we’re very good at is design, from interiors to clothes. The quality of fabrics here is far superior to many other countries. On my tours I try to show people both sides of the coin for a holistic perspective.”
News coverage of Pakistan focuses on what can seem like a constant state of instability. Since the country was created in 1947 by the partition of British India, no Pakistani prime minister has seen out their full five-year term. The Pakistani military is extremely powerful and has enacted coups d’etat on several occasions. But political volatility doesn’t affect the average tourist. Umer recalls how, on the day the Prime Minister Imran Khan was controversially forced from office, travellers trekking in the Karakoram Mountains were completely oblivious to what was happening 700km south.
Our clients have sometimes been to the family home of our guides for dinner. One was even invited to a family wedding. The Pakistani way is that everyone is our guest![]()
And when you travel with an open mind, you’ll find that Pakistan is an incredibly safe and welcoming country to visit. “I view Pakistani hospitality as a kind of open-door policy,” says Saadia. “Our clients have sometimes been to the family home of our guides for dinner. One was even invited to a family wedding. The Pakistani way is that everyone is our guest.”
Of the welcome that visitors receive in the Karakoram Mountains, Umer says it’s not so much a deliberate form of hospitality, but just the natural way of things in such remote areas. “Pakistan has some of the world’s most populated cities but in the mountain valleys there are sometimes just a few thousand people living there, so they rely on each other for social bonding, and wrongdoers are quickly outcast. I know of one district in the Nangma Valley where the last police report was filed 25 years ago!”
What you can do
Look beyond the headlines and go in with an open mind. Pakistan is a safe country to visit, but it is most conveniently travelled with a responsible travel company that knows the areas you’ll be visiting well and has good local connections. If you want boutique hotels, high-end restaurants and luxury shopping, you can find them in abundance in cities from Lahore to Peshawar to Islamabad. If you want peace and quiet, and stunning landscapes, our-Karakoram Mountains holidays will captivate you. But wherever you go, expect to find warmth and hospitality from people thrilled to see tourists coming back.
Of the welcome that visitors receive in the Karakoram Mountains, Umer says it’s not so much a deliberate form of hospitality, but just the natural way of things in such remote areas. “Pakistan has some of the world’s most populated cities but in the mountain valleys there are sometimes just a few thousand people living there, so they rely on each other for social bonding, and wrongdoers are quickly outcast. I know of one district in the Nangma Valley where the last police report was filed 25 years ago!”
What you can do
Look beyond the headlines and go in with an open mind. Pakistan is a safe country to visit, but it is most conveniently travelled with a responsible travel company that knows the areas you’ll be visiting well and has good local connections. If you want boutique hotels, high-end restaurants and luxury shopping, you can find them in abundance in cities from Lahore to Peshawar to Islamabad. If you want peace and quiet, and stunning landscapes, our-Karakoram Mountains holidays will captivate you. But wherever you go, expect to find warmth and hospitality from people thrilled to see tourists coming back.
Women in tourism
The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report, which makes its assessments based on health outcomes, economic participation, educational attainment and political empowerment, ranks Pakistan as one of the worst-performing countries in the world, indicating that gender parity is still a long way off. Saadia, however, is optimistic that progress is being made. “The mindset is changing significantly, especially in towns and cities. There is a lot more desire in families for daughters to succeed and stand on their own two feet, a growing recognition that it’s unsustainable for a couple to survive on just one income.”One area of Pakistani society where women are becoming more visible is the tourism industry, something that our holidays here both celebrate and support. In Peshawar, for example, you can take a cooking workshop in the home of a woman who has established her own catering business. The money she can earn from showing a few guests how to make a traditional Peshwari dish is equivalent to a normal month’s salary. “I want to do more of this sort of thing because women are cooking already, they have the skillset and for mothers, conveniently it means they don’t need to leave the home,” says Saadia.
In the Hunza Valley in the far north of Pakistan you can visit a women-run carpentry business to see everything from doors and windows to beds and tables being made. Typically, carpentry is a male-dominated industry, so these women are breaking boundaries and supporting their families at the same time. Elsewhere in this region you can stop in at cafes which have been deliberately chosen because they are supplied with produce made by local women, as well as craft shops. “These shops are often staffed by older women with no dependents, who can keep working into later life,” says Saadia. “They sell items made by younger women with childcare requirements who can’t leave the home. But each purse you buy has a slip of paper inside telling you the name of the lady who made it and who will directly benefit from your purchase.”
What you can do
If you’re interested in holidays that support and empower local women, we have a number of trips that have been created to do precisely that. They will have itineraries designed to visit women-run businesses and to showcase community enterprises that are helping to lift women and their families out of poverty through training and employment.
Environment & wildlife in Pakistan
How the climate crisis will affect Pakistan
Just as Pakistan’s tourism industry takes off, a warming climate poses fresh challenges. The average greenhouse gas emissions per person in Pakistan are less than half the global average, but the effects of climate change will be severe in this mountainous country whose agriculture and water supply depends on the Indus River.Glacier melt is among the biggest threats. The floods in 2022 which killed nearly 2,000 people and caused billions of dollars’ worth of damage were caused by heavy monsoon rains, melting glaciers, and then a heatwave. Recovery from that disaster has been hampered by further instances of flash flooding and heatwaves.
“Glaciers are melting fast, which means abundant water for people right now but eventually we will have shortages,” says Umer. “And the issue will be if too many resorts spring up. A typical family of five in a mountain valley might consume 10-20 litres of water in a day, but a resort can easily use 100 times that. So, climate change in Pakistan will mean water scarcity but [melting glaciers] will also mean problems like lake bursts and landslides.”
Research by the World Economic Forum has found that frequent natural disasters like these are creating ‘climate anxiety’ among local Pakistani people, a phenomenon that most affects women and young people. Often their needs are sidelined when dealing with climate-related disasters, while the cost of clean-ups diverts resources that might otherwise be used to reduce societal inequalities.
How you can help
If you’re planning to travel to Pakistan, one of the most consequential decisions you can take is where you stay. As Umer points out, a five-star resort in a valley that doesn’t have much water is not a good choice, because the type of services they offer, from spas to daily laundry and large bathtubs, are unsustainably thirsty. Look instead for accommodation, and responsible tour operators, that acknowledge the need to reduce water consumption and take active steps to do so.
The fossil fuel emissions that are heating our planet pay no regard to country borders, and so the lifestyles of wealthier countries are causing nature to wreak havoc in less affluent nations like Pakistan. At home, the biggest impact any of us can take is to consider where our money is invested, to switch to renewable energy, and to fly less. Here at Responsible Travel, we took the difficult decision to divest from Barclays Bank over their financing of fossil fuel projects.
Accommodation upgrades
Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region, home to some of the tallest mountains on the planet, is immensely popular for adventurous trekkers and those looking to escape the crowds of more well-known destinations in countries like Nepal and Tibet. But the boom in tourism is leading to many multi-storey hotels being built in an unplanned, unregulated manner.These concrete monstrosities don’t just look out of place in areas of such great natural beauty – they’re also detrimental to the environment. Construction often requires deforestation, and many hotels are built on agricultural land or pastures. These hotels may lack systems for solid waste disposal or wastewater recycling, leading to pollution. Changes are afoot, however.
People coming into tourism now are a lot more switched on about sustainability, particularly with regards to climate and to the fact that tourism needs to benefit local communities![]()
“What we’ve seen in recent years is a lot of young entrepreneurs investing in quality hotels – many inspired by Nordic countries to use natural resources and with an emphasis on sustainability,” says Saadia. “Overall I think the direction we’re going in is good as the people coming into tourism now are a lot more switched on about sustainability, particularly with regards to climate and to the fact that tourism needs to benefit local communities.”
The Pakistani government owns a number of guest houses in Gilgit-Baltistan, and it has partnered with a private company to redevelop the facilities of these properties. The aim is to enhance standards while introducing energy efficiency and waste reduction measures. The move will also support and empower surrounding communities such as by sourcing construction materials from the area, and providing training and jobs for local people.
What you can do
Look for smaller, locally run hotels and guest houses that are actively trying to minimise their carbon footprint. Our holidays in Pakistan are a good place to start, as they are screened to ensure they benefit communities. If you can do without a pillow menu, or a hot tub, for a week, then you’ll find that staying in a hotel that hires local people and is committed to improving the local environment is also a great window into local culture.
The Pakistani government owns a number of guest houses in Gilgit-Baltistan, and it has partnered with a private company to redevelop the facilities of these properties. The aim is to enhance standards while introducing energy efficiency and waste reduction measures. The move will also support and empower surrounding communities such as by sourcing construction materials from the area, and providing training and jobs for local people.
What you can do
Look for smaller, locally run hotels and guest houses that are actively trying to minimise their carbon footprint. Our holidays in Pakistan are a good place to start, as they are screened to ensure they benefit communities. If you can do without a pillow menu, or a hot tub, for a week, then you’ll find that staying in a hotel that hires local people and is committed to improving the local environment is also a great window into local culture.
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