In the past decade, Pakistan has continued to face significant challenges and barriers to healthy development of the country’s tourism industry: the great tragedy of 9/11 in 2001; the horrific earthquake in 2005; the devastating floods that once again wreaked havoc on most of the country in 2010. As the nation struggles to recover from these catastrophic events, Pakistan has now lost its Tourism Ministry, halting the country’s efforts to re-develop its tourism sector before it has even had a chance to begin.

In March 2011, the Tourism Corporation Khyber-Pukhtunkhwa (TCKP) and the Chitral Association for Mountain Area Tourism (CAMAT) joined hands to celebrate Navrouz, or the Persian New Year, and to honor the beauty of Chitrali culture and cuisine. In the town of Chitral, a lively festival featuring indigenous cuisine and folk music was held with the aims of sustaining local traditions, as well as promoting the marketability of these cultural elements for regional tourism development.

TIES Association member Ecotourism Society Pakistan (ESP) announced The Region project in May 2010 with the aim of building and strengthening relationships among intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, tour operators and other stakeholders from across South Asia, Central Asia and Eastern Europe.

Everyone has heard of the Annapurna trail, Mount Everest and other Himalayan hotspots, which draw thousands of trekkers and mountaineers to Nepal every year. Now there is a new trail in development which is likely to go straight to the top of many adventurers’ To-Do list, and the people behind it hope it will, to spread the benefits of trekking tourism to little visited regions of the Himalayas.

The Great Himalaya Trail (GHT), a network of existing trails which connect popular trekking areas with areas that are less explored, is the highest and one of the longest walking trails in the world. Winding beneath the world’s highest peaks and visiting some of the most remote communities on earth, the Great Himalaya Trail, roughly 4,500 km in length, passes through lush green valleys, arid high plateaus and incredible landscapes, crossing through Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, India, and Pakistan.

Chitral Association for Mountain Area Tourism (CMAT), in partnership with Destination Management Organization (DMO) of Chitral, celebrated the International Day of Climate Change Action (October 10, 2010 – 10/10/10), which was initiated by 350.org, was celebrated in Booni, Chitral (Northern Pakistan), through the facilitation of and 350.org. The theme of the day was “Breaking of Booni Glacier, Its Relation to Climate Change.”

By Shams Uddin, Chitral Association for Mountain Area Tourism (CAMAT)

Booni is a village 80 kilometers to the north of Chitral town. Just like the rest of the villages in the Hindu Kush region, Booni is a fan-shaped landmass formed by glacial deposit at the mouth of what is called ‘Booni Gol’ or the stream of Booni, which cultivates the tracts of crops, vegetables, fruit bearing apple, pear and grape trees, and so on. On the afternoon of July 26th, 2010, a huge flash flood that originated from Booni Zom glacier smashed road networks, telephone and water supply lines

By Shams Uddin, Chitral Association for Mountain Area Tourism (CAMAT) – A vigil rally was organized in Booni, northern Chitral, Pakistan, as part of the global “Vigil For Survival” movement calling for a strong climate treaty in Copenhagen. Standing in solemn solidarity with the citizens of the nations whose very survival is threatened by the climate crisis, thousands of rallies and candlelight vigils were held around the world on December 12th and 13th, 2009. (Source: 350.org)

The Chitral Association for Mountain Area Tourism (CAMAT) celebrated the International Day of Climate Action on Oct 24th, 2009 in the Kalash Valley region (Rumbor, Chitral District, Pakistan) promoting actions with the motto “think globally, act locally.” The theme of the day was “The Impacts of Global Warming on the Kalash Communities,” and the CAMAT’s October 24th events gathered together local environmental groups, students, community leaders and women’s groups.

By Shams Uddin, Chitral Association for Mountain Area Tourism (CAMAT) – Chitral, in the extreme north of Pakistan, is home to 40,000 people, settled in more than 300 small villages boasting great cultural and natural diversity. These villages offer unique opportunities highlighting Indigenous arts, crafts and music, traditional sports, cuisine, and the fascinating local way of life. CAMAT has been promoting community-based, culturally-rooted and environmentally-friendly tourism in Chitral for the last one and a half decade.