Who can find fault with local tourists flocking to tourist spots up north and having a good time? After all, Pakistan feels safer than it did some two years ago. Thanks to low inflation, the middle-class has more money in the pocket. Many access roads, hitherto excruciating to drive on, are better paved, and now ply more vehicles on them. Yet, as everything seems to be coming together, something does not seem right.
Tour any popular resort in Gilgit-Baltistan or Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and chances are high that you will find haphazard development marring the natural landscape. In the last two seasons, the rush of folks, mostly from Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad/Rawalpindi, has been a perfect storm for landscape in areas such as the picturesque valley of Hunza and the touristy town of Naran.
More visitors mean good business for families whose livelihoods are directly and indirectly linked to tourism-related services. Take, for instance, Hunza valley, which has been a popular draw for foreign tourists not only due to its glorious landscape but also its launch-pad position for trekking expeditions to surrounding snow-capped peaks. As per a local tour guide, a domestic tourist spends many times more on food and lodging than would a foreign tourist, who is more interested in treks and climbs.
While an influx of domestic tourist means more business for locals, it is becoming apparent that it is unsustainable in the long run. Tourism experts claim that the idyllic valleys and towns in the northern areas do not yet have the human capacity and physical infrastructure to absorb the rising domestic tourism. That warning rings true when you visit the north. Murree and Naran were again choked this year. Hunza locals say they haven’t seen so much tourist traffic in their town as this season.
Due to limited lodging facilities in famous resorts, many visiting families have to sleep in their cars during peak season and around holidays. The accommodations that do exist have patchy service standards. Even the run-down establishments command an unfair bit of fare. To make room for more accommodation, one finds developers carrying out extensive excavation works around mountains and rivers in various tourist districts. But in addressing one problem, it exacerbates many more. Unplanned construction activities are destroying the natural beauty of the landscape. Besides, they are creating noise and air pollution, two things the tourists hope to find solace from.
Besides real estate, another issue is of waste management. Any responsible tourist would cringe at the sight of plastic bottles straddling freshwater stream and crumpled wrappers lining mountain tops. Much of the blame lies at the door of visitors and their lazy ways. But locals, who are getting used to packaged-goods lifestyle, seem to be partaking, too. Local hoteliers and restaurateurs don’t shy from dumping waste into rivers. And local officials don’t have proper waste management systems.
Locals living in scenic valleys and towns must care more about their landscape than would a distant urbanite. But one cannot help notice this competition where more urbanites want to be around nature, but those living around nature are developing a liking for urban lifestyle. In the short term, both may get what they want. But in the long term, nature will run its course. Sustainable tourism is the need of the hour.
