World Tourism Day was celebrated all over the world on September 27. The theme this year was "Tourism and Jobs, Better Future for All." Several events were organised all over the country to highlight this occasion and showcase tourism products/destinations it can boast of, together with plans for the future.

The sitting government is giving utmost priority to the development of the tourism sector as it sees it as an engine of economic growth. A few decisions have been taken by the government recently to help facilitate this goal, for example, easing the tourist visa application process for foreigners, removing the requirement of obtaining No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to visit certain areas and the establishment of dedicated tourist police services in some parts of the country. The government also plans to develop new tourism sites and provide facilities at the existing ones to increase the tourist footprint - both local and international.

Is it prudent to keep the focus on the number of tourists and revenues generated from tourism without thinking about the prospective damage done to the tourist sites? The numbers and the revenues can seem impressive in the short term, but the sites may lose their charm in the long run with the gradual wear and tear that is a part and parcel of tourism.

This issue is especially relevant in the context of Pakistan where tourists are mostly attracted to the natural beauty of mountains, lakes, meadows, snow-capped peaks, plains, hot and cold deserts, wildlife sanctuaries, dense forests, as well as archaeological sites. Tourists will only keep on coming here until the distinct features of these sites remain intact. Unlike some tourist attractions, any damage done to these eco-tourism and archaeological sites is in most cases, irreversible. Therefore, it has become extremely important to reach some sort of a balance between the development of tourism industry in the country and the sustainability of tourism sites.

This topic was also the focus of a multi-stakeholder consultation organised by the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) in collaboration with the United Nation Development Programme in Islamabad last month. Experts from both the government and private sectors highlighted various issues and came up with suggestions to tackle them. Among topics discussed were tourism infrastructure, investment promotion, regulatory and policy reforms, marketing and branding, promotion of adventure tourism, culture and archaeological tourism, religious tourism and last but not the least sustainable eco-tourism in Pakistan.

Aftab Rana, president of Sustainable Tourism Foundation and advisor to the Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KP) government on tourism, warns that the country will lose most of its tourist assets in the next ten years if the present trend of irresponsible tourism development continues. He tells The News on Sunday (TNS) that already more than 30 percent tourist sites are under severe pressure, some of them have already lost their natural charm. "Deforestation, overdeveloped infrastructure, pollution, littering, harm caused to structures etc are some of the reasons why this happened."

Rana says the principle of sustainable development dictates that the level of development does not exceed the capacity of the area. This has been neglected. For example, thousands of hotels are situated in areas that should have accommodated just a few hundred. This leads to the production of huge quantities of waste, sewerage and smoke polluting natural watercourses and air quality. Naran, he says, is the perfect example of this phenomenon as the place has lost its natural beauty due to the emergence of countless multi-storey concrete buildings blocks.

He laments that there was no electricity in Naran throughout the summer season, making the whole place dependent on diesel-run generators that emitted unbearable amounts of smoke. "The utility organisations treat it as a small town with a small population. They don’t see it as a place where tourists’ footprint may rise to up to 200,000 during a particular day in the peak season," he adds.

A plan has been under consideration for the longest time, to set up Destination Management Organisations including all key stakeholders at the district level, but there has not been much progress in that regard. Local communities can be engaged to protect such places. Part of the revenues generated from tourism in these areas can be offered as incentives. It is well-known that people would swarm archaeological sites of the Ghandara civilisation and destroy structures to loot statues or artefacts for sale in the international market. Many an ancient rock carving has been destroyed in this manner by paintings made on them by tourists.

Aisha Khan, CEO of the Mountain and Glacier Protection Organisation, says that Pakistan can become a dream destination for eco-tourism because of the varied geography of the country and striking topographical features. "But before we open up these areas to tourists it is imperative to consider the carrying capacity of natural landscapes and urban centres. We do have rules and regulations but these remain largely unobserved due to weak enforcement. We need better oversight and stringent penalties for violators," she says.

Khan adds that Bhutan offers an excellent example of tourism and conservation management. The country prefers high-cost pristine tourism over mass tourism that brings in revenues without causing harm to the sites. Pakistan needs to look for blended practices by promoting tourism and revitalising this sector, creating jobs and stimulating the economy. However, this should not come at the cost of environmental degradation. "With good management plans and practices, it is possible to allow both to thrive in tandem."

This is important because, with the improvement in the road infrastructure due to CPEC related development and other initiatives, many ecotourism sites that have remained hidden so far will become accessible to the public.

Babur Malik, the Marketing and Promotion manager at the PTDC says sustainability shall be the hallmark of tourism in Pakistan. He says that they are focusing on it in their consultations with provinces and stakeholders of the tourism industry. He says the country has been blessed with immense natural beauty that attracts tourists from all over, and it needs to be sustained.

He says the PTDC is working on identifying new eco-tourism sites to be developed according to the best global practices in this regard. This will hopefully save them from potential harm and will decrease the tourist load on the existing sites, he adds.