The UNWTO initiative to search for 'Best Tourist Village' aims at making tourism a positive force for transformation, rural development and community well-being, and to maximise the contribution of the sector to reducing regional inequalities and fighting against rural depopulation.

by Gul Nayab Kaiser Islamabad, April 27: The government has further tightened restriction on travel and tourism and called for compliance with SOPs during religious gatherings and Eid Holidays. A complete ban has been imposed on tourism, inter-provincial and intra-city transport from May 8 to 16 including Eid holidays, a notification issued by the interior ministry said on Tuesday. The …

Only 0.35m tourists visited the Central Asian country last year as compared to 1.25m in the previous year, says an official News Desk Coronavirus pandemic hit the global tourism sector hard in 2020, proving to be the worst year in tourism history with 1 billion fewer international arrivals, says the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNETO). The direct contribution of …

The global community unites to celebrate “tourism and rural development” High Asia Herald Report Summer holidays used to be the peak season in Gilgit-Baltistan. file photo The 2020 edition of World Tourism Day, with the theme of “Tourism and Rural Development”, celebrates the unique role that tourism plays in providing opportunities outside of big cities and preserving cultural and natural heritage …

Pakistan's tourism sector suffered another jolt as the PTDC has announced to shut down its 30 motels and terminate the services of its 450 permanent employees, prompting a strong reaction from social media activists and employees over the government’s decision

Naba Basar discovers the secrets of healthy, organic and innovative mountain cuisine from Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral. She shares her experiences of the mountain regions adventure, hospitality, social customs, lifestyle in a series of features for The High Asia Herald readers. Tzamik potato, Karimabad, Hunza Chilpindok – large chapattis spread with pai, homemade yogurt and qurut dried yugart and butter/apricot oil, …

Naba Basar discovers the secrets of healthy, organic and innovative mountain cuisine from Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral. She shares her experiences of the mountain regions adventure, hospitality, social customs, lifestyle in a series of features for The High Asia Herald readers. Soups Don’t expect to find the Chinese soups you are accustomed to in cities. You may or may not find …

Naba Basar discovers the secrets of healthy, organic and innovative mountain cuisine from Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral. She shares her experiences of the mountain regions adventure, hospitality, social customs, lifestyle in a series of features for The High Asia Herald readers. Food should never be the sole reason to travel. Fortuitously for many, it is a popular trend for both domestic …

    M Ajmal K Masood   While travelling to the north, most of the youth make their travelling statuses as ‘mountains are calling’. This phrase is not merely a social media buzzword but resonates the social, cultural and spiritual relations between the people and the mountains. In the primitive age, human being living in mountainous regions such as High …

Globally over 75m jobs are at risk in tour and hospitality sectors, 48.7m in Asia-Pacific and 75,000 in Pakistan   High Asia Herald Report As adventure tourism season in Pakistan draws closer and the country reeling from the devastating impact of coronavirus pandemic, the tour operators in Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral are still hoping against hope. Although Pakistan has eased lockdown and …

By Zubair Torwali   Swat is truly said to be a Switzerland in the East or Switzerland could be Swat of Europe. It is because of its immense serenity and natural beauty. Historically, Swat is home to ancient Buddhism and the Darada culture. It was the south centre of the entire Dardistan/Kafiristan. It had multiple traditional routes from all sides and was the second most …

The pandemic causes a 22% decline in tourist arrivals in Q1, or $80bn loss, says UNWTO reports   Herald Report The coronavirus pandemic has caused 22% fall in international tourist arrivals in the first quarter (Q1) of the financial year 2020 and could further drop by 60-80% over the whole year, says a report. The UN tourism watchdog says 67 …

By S. Akbar Zaidi The trade-off being presented of saving lives through a lockdown to eliminate the coronavirus and killing the poor on account of the closure of economic activity is a false one. There is no denying the fact that the spread of the virus and the action taken to protect the lives of people have had severe economic consequences …

News Desk Holiday spirits are back in Urumqi’s International Grand Bazaar. More than 60,000 visited the bazaar on Friday, as the bazaar, the biggest in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, enters its peak travel season, while far from its daily record accommodation of 300,000 from previous years. Liu Wanyue, the manager in charge of the bazaar area, told CGTN …

News Desk As some countries start to see light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel and authorities struggle to balance safety and the economy, a few signals hint that hope is not lost for the summer climbing season in Pakistan, writes Angela Benavides in the ExplorersWeb. Like every other country in the world, Pakistan is suffering from the pandemic. …