Tourism feeling the heat of conflict in NWFP صوبہ سرحد میں جاری حالیہ شدید کشیدگی کے باعت ملک میں سیر سیاحت کا شعبہ شدید بری طرح متاثر ہورہا ہے۔۔۔

Govt attracts tourists to Kalash festival, tour operators say Northern Areas have nothing to do with conflict-hit zone

The News - Thursday, May 21, 2009 By Saad Hasan

KARACHI: Amid gloom and destruction, a defiant NWFP government tried to maintain signs of normalcy by marketing the annual Kalash festival held in Chitral last week, just a few miles away from where soldiers were engaged in a fierce battle with militants.

It asked tourists to come and explore the culture of mysterious Kalash people during four days of celebrations which started on May 13 through advertisements in newspapers and television commercials in a last attempt to rescue a terrorised tourism industry.

“This is time to either run away and hide or do something for the flagging tourism businesses,” says Ali Jan, an official of Sarhad Tourism Corporation (STC). “It’s a question of survival for thousands of poor families who rely on tourism.”

The only source of income for many people in Chitral comes from selling artifacts to the tourists. Now even that has stopped as many countries have issued negative travel advisories for Pakistan.

Since the US offensive began against the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan after Sept 11, 2001, the once scenic parts of NWFP , which is known for hospitality of the locals, have turned into a bloody battlefield. The repercussions have been far-fetched.

In a country where domestic tourism was never promoted, the tour operators came to the brink of bankruptcy with decrease in the number of foreigners willing to visit Pakistan.

STC shifted its focus to domestic tourists for the festival. But the only road link to the Chitral region was closed and coming days would tell if the festival was a success. “So far, we have received tremendous response from the people,” Jan told The News on May 13, the day the festival kicked off.

Though Chitral borders the districts of Swat and Dir where militants had wreaked havoc, it has not faced any disturbance. Unfortunately, the close proximity has turned out to be the bane for tourism there.

The whole northern part of Pakistan is seen as infected by the menace of militancy, something which has devastated the tourism industry of Northern Areas. Tourism businesses, which have flourished for years in Gilgit and Skardu on the back of mountain climbers, are now slowly closing down, say tour operators. Hopelessness among these operators is at its peak.

“There is nothing I have got to tell you,” says Syed Akhter Abbas, Managing Director of Alpine Trekkers and Tours. “There are no numbers to share as no one is willing to come here anymore.”

A negative perception has come in between world’s steepest peaks and the adventure seekers who used to come in large numbers for expedition to K-2 and Nanga Parbat.

Sahib Noor, CEO of Concordia Expedition Pakistan, says his company has received only one expedition group this year. “Till last year, we were dealing with 10-15 groups.” He regretted that the tourism ministry and the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) have not done anything to project the true situation of Northern Areas, which have remained immune from terrorism.

Media often confuses Northern Areas with other parts of NWFP and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), a mistake that has taken a heavy toll in terms of fanning negative perceptions.

So far, tourism authorities have launched no campaign to apprise the people of the fact that Northern Areas have nothing to do with the conflict-hit zone and that they are safe to travel there, tour operators say.

Even with the war being fought in their backyard, 51 expeditions have been registered for Gilgit, Skardu and other parts of Northern Areas, PTDC says. It remains to be seen how many of them will actually materialise.

But official figures cannot be relied upon. According to PTDC, 822,828 foreign tourists visited Pakistan in 2008, down only two per cent from 839,517 who came in 2007. The method used to gather this number includes all the people who entered the country on foreign visas, whether they were here to meet relatives, on official trips or otherwise.

With the damage already done, Khawaja Jehanzeb, MD of Zeb Travels, says the government must initiate media campaigns to save whatever is left. “To start with, authorities can promote domestic tourism. Our own people don’t know how many worth seeing places we have got in Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan,” he said, referring to Rani Kot Fort, Taxila and Mehrgarh to name a few.

While terrorists have damaged the country’s image, says Tariq Bin Yousuf, General Manager Destinations of the World, they must not be allowed to discourage people from travelling. “Are we the only people facing disturbances?” he asked. “Everyone in the region is facing similar problems from India and Sri Lanka to Thailand.”