"Travellers are advised to monitor government and consular information before travel to Karachi following a series of suicide bombs and sectarian unrest.

"Avoid travel to Waziristan, to northern and western Balochistan, western North West Frontier Province (NWFP), the Federally-Administered Tribal Areas and Agencies (FATA), and border areas other than official crossings. In Sindh Province, anti-Western sentiment occasionally bubbles over into violence. Visitors to upper Sindh are encouraged to notify authorities beforehand.

"Sectarian violence in Punjab Province has eased, although Christians are still occasionally targeted. Trekkers heading for Gilgit, Hunza, Chitral and the upper Swat Valley should hire reputable guides to ward against assault. Though tensions along the Kashmiri Line of Control have eased, travellers should keep abreast of the latest developments." (The extracts given above have been taken from one the most popular travel websites: lonelyplanet.com).

This very well describes the predicament of prospective foreign visitors unable to decide whether or not to visit Pakistan. At the same time, it also throws light on the challenges faced by the tourism ministry and allied tourism departments in the country while convincing foreigners to dispel their fears.

In these mostly unfavourable conditions, Pakistan government is celebrating the current year as Visit Pakistan Year. An aggressive campaign, 'Destination Pakistan 2007' has also been launched officially to showcase the country as an attractive tourist destination. It's something in line with the United Nations plan that has set 2007 as "a 'critical year' to consolidate tourism as a key agent in the fight against poverty and a primary tool for sustainable development."

Under its marketing plan, the tourism ministry has published an events calendar carrying details of cultural shows, melas, festivals, sporting events and safaris, including the one at the Khewra Salt Mines, that it thinks can attract foreign tourists to the country during the year. To name a few, Lahore Marathon, Pakistan Tourism Fair in Lahore, Competition of Brass Band by Pakistan Armed Forces, Sibi Mela, National Skiing Championship, Malam Jabba, Thar Desert Festival (and marathon) with cultural programme at Umarkot Fort, Sindh. 31st Gandhara Week with Sound and Light show at Taxila, International Mystic Music Festival, Lahore, Chitral and Kalash Festival, White Water Rafting, Azad Kashmir, SAARC Tourism Mart Karachi, Shandur Polo Festival Chitral-Gilgit, with Festival at Kalash, Hot Air Ballooning Competition in Islamabad and Jashn-e-Sahil (Balochistan Coastal Area), Gawadar are on the list.

While all is being said and tall claims made, the ground reality is that the issues that need to be addressed on priority are still unattended to. Many visitors coming to this part of the world have complained against the cumbersome visa issuing procedures adopted by Pakistani authorities. The law and order situation across the country is worsening day by day and there are no proper roads and comfortable public transport to carry people to these dream destinations. The hotel industry is also not much developed -- especially when it comes to accommodating travellers looking for economy deals without compromising on quality. The situation is so bad that according to a press report, an Australian tour operator had to wait for six weeks to get a visa to participate in the Pakistan Tourism Fair held in Lahore from January 18, 2007 to January 20, 2007 (Dawn, Jan 21st 2007).

This is a problem that the Federal Minister for Tourism Nilofar Bakhtiar has also complained about. In a recent statement, she said the government had not yet implemented the new visa policy that it had announced on June 30 to promote tourism, especially with reference to India. She said, unfortunately people are still facing the same problems of security clearance and routine hurdles like in the past. She also expressed dissatisfaction over the performance of Pakistan's high commissions abroad in promoting tourism.

But on the whole, she says, conditions are improving. Nilofar takes credit for revamping the sector by taking certain revolutionary steps. These include i) launching of various training programmes for tourist guides aiming to make them proficient in language, computer skills and other required competence ii) chalking out a comprehensive strategy to enhance women's participation in tourism industry from current 2 percent up to a respectable level iii) revision of the target of attracting at least one million tourists per annum in the country iv) training of managers and owners of various category hotels, v) grant of permission to use of satellite phones in tourist resorts photographic equipment and vi) persuading Petrol Pumps Association to ensure clean washrooms in their outlets.

The point being that carrying out these measures in the Visit Pakistan Year is too late in the day; all this should have been implemented beforehand, much before 2007.

A look at the exhaustive list of events planned for Visit Pakistan Year may impress foreigners, but the locals are not ready to buy the argument. To them, most of the events are celebrated every year and there's nothing special about the list. Besides, they are not convinced by the logic behind holding tourism fairs inside Pakistan to attract target audience scattered all over the globe.

Muhammad Mudassir, a travel agent based in Lahore, tells The News on Sunday that despite having lots to offer to a foreign visitor Pakistan has never been a safe destination for foreigners. "They are afraid of being killed here or deprived of their belongings. They are over-cautious as the country has been declared hotbed of terrorist activities. What happens is that most of them opt to go to India, Sri Lanka or Thailand rather than coming to Pakistan. They do not even want to touch our airports as transit passengers and prefer to land at Dubai airport," Mudassir says.

Hasnat Kamboh, a Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation (PMDC) official, tells TNS that many sites in Pakistan are no less than a wonder for foreign tourists. Once they are inside Pakistan, they cannot resist moving from one place to another. "The main issue is how to bring them to our country. We must work for this cause and portray a positive image of Pakistan abroad though our acts. Only then we will succeed." He says the PMDC stall at tourism fair was thronged by hundreds of foreigners who wanted to visit Khewra salt mines managed by PMDC. This place has a historic/archeological value as salt deposits here were discovered in the times of Alexander. All of them were extremely interested in seeing the main tunnel at ground level which was developed in 1872, and is now a tourist spot.

When contacted for comments, Managing Director Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC), Salman Javed told TNS that though Pakistan seems a hard sell to potential tourists, the situation is fast improving. He says no doubt there are problems related to law and order but not as severe as portrayed to the world. To dispel such impressions, the government is pursuing a multi-pronged strategy that will definitely deliver soon.

About visa problems faced by tourists, the MD says the government is working on this issue and will release special instructions to all the relevant quarters. "As part of this plan, the government has decided to grant visit visas to tourists coming from around 24 countries at the airport on arrival. These countries include USA, UK and Canada. But this facility will be available only to the tourist groups constituting at least 10 persons," he says.

He says as many as 38 PTDC motels are functioning across the country, out of which 14 are working in the northern areas. "PTDC is encouraging private-public partnership. It will offer eight vacant plots to the private sector to build and operate their business there. The existing hotels will also be privatised to improve the quality of service available to the tourists."

Javed says the tourism fair held in Lahore was in addition to the many held abroad to showcase Pakistan as a tourist-friendly country. We participated in JATA World Travel Fair held last year in Japan and World Travel Mart. This year we will be participating in travel fairs scheduled to be held in Berlin, Germany in March and Arab Travel Mart going to be held in Dubai later this year.

"It was part of our plan to market Pakistan abroad that we invited travel writers from abroad to Pakistan Tourism Fair (PTF). These writers, whose visits were co-sponsored by PTDC, will write pieces on Pakistan in international travel magazines of great repute and show the true picture to the world. We also invited Isobel Shaw who wrote the popular guide on trekking opportunities in Pakistan (Pakistan Trekking Guide: Himalayas, Karakorum and Hindukush). She has also agreed to write a revised version of the book," he adds.

The MD says that Pakistan offers three major types of tourism to foreigners. These are adventure, heritage and religious tourism. "We have introduced different kinds of religious tourism, like Gandhara tourism that would attract tourists from Japan, China, Korea and other far eastern countries with a majority of Buddhists. To ensure this, we are renovating Buddhist historical places like Taxila and Mohenjodaro and will provide every facility to them.

"We have also planned Sikh, Hindu and Sufi tourism and historical places like Nankana Sahib, Panja Sahib, Tilla Jogian and shrines of Sufi saints would not only attract Sikh and Hindus from all over the world but also people from different Muslims countries," he says.

He adds that the government functionaries are holding one-to-one meetings with foreign ambassadors and convincing them to revise the travel warnings they issue to their countrymen back home. "I have also had a very successful meeting a World Bank director who has great love for Lahore. He is the person who has approved the project of re-doing the Walled City. He was very supportive of our plans to bring maximum number of tourists to Pakistan," Javed adds.

Another concept that Pakistan is trying to capitalise on is that of joint marketing. Under this concept, travel organisers of two or more countries of a region offer joint packages to tourists. "We have operators who are bundling Pakistan visit with journey to Nepal, Sri Lanka, India and and so on," he adds.

About the events mentioned in the calendar, Javed says "no doubt most of them are being held in the country on regular basis, but this time they will be organised in a much different way. For example, we are further improving the quality of the Shandur Festival. The president of Pakistan has sanctioned Rs 550 million to make the road metalled," he added

The best of intentions can go waste, if not implemented at the right time. One may but hope that this is not what will go amiss in 2007... Visit Pakistan Year.

Realizing the importance of tourism (and possibly the profits in store!), Musharraf's government has declared 2007 as the year of tourism, with focus on tapping the full potential of local tourism. "For the first time a marketing strategy has been chalked out in Pakistan," says Federal Tourism Minister Nilofer Bakhtiar. But before luring the hordes of tourists, our worthy officials need to pause and consider: what do we have in store for a casual traveller? What will a tourist do other than observe and take it all in?

No doubt Pakistan offers the sights and sounds that will stay with the traveller forever -- Mughal architecture, Buddhist relics, some of the top mountain peaks of the world, the Cholistan desert, golden beaches, rich food and much more. But what it does not have so far are the upscale resorts, spas, knowledgeable guides, pushy tour operators, well informed tour guides and more -- the magical words in today's tourism.

Also, what it misses out on is allowing an explorer the luxury of a pleasant train ride. A train journey across the vast planes of Punjab is losing its charm. The unhindered views of harvested land, golden or green, have been obstructed by unchecked construction and heaps of garbage dumped all along the railway tracks.

This overshadows the simple pleasures of rail ka safar. Finding the allotted seat and discovering it to be occupied by someone else... getting off the train at every stop, relishing pakoras, Multan ka halwa, garum andey... the sudden influx of coolis (porters) in their characteristic red turbans and red shirt as the train approaches the platform. So very typically Pakistani!

In the mountains, the decent places to stay in are the PTDC motels. The ideally located PTDC motel in Naran along the Kunhar River sits like a miracle in the midst of monstrosities mushrooming in the valley. Like all other motels run by the tourism department this one too is no frills and just about meets the basic requirement of a clean tiled bathroom, a comfortable warm bed, hot water and a running kitchen serving paratha and omelette for breakfast and roast or karahi chicken for lunch and dinner.

To the south, we have ruined the idyllic sandy beaches over the years. Sandspit and Hawks Bay are appalling sights. Overcrowded, with picnickers and millions of plastic bags and occasional syringes littering the beach. The sea water, blue and inviting to dive in, but oily and polluted at a close look.

In cities, nightlife is non existent. No discos, casinos or night clubs. The cinema and theatre scene is minimal but slowly catching on, with the annual Karafilm festival in Karachi and the Rafi Peer performing arts festival in Lahore.

This is a cynical guide to Pakistan. Not denying that Pakistan has come a long way since the dark 1980s and the adverse effects 9/11 left on the tourism industry. Now General Musharraf seems to be making a conscious effort to revive tourism. But given the current state of the industry, will tourists start to trickle in easily? What kind of a tourist are we attracting? Those driven by mere curiosity or ones with hefty wallets to carry around?

Pick up any guide on different tourist destinations and it would talk about miles and miles of unspoilt beaches, snow-clad mountains, unique wildlife, nature walks, train journeys along historic routes or cutting across picturesque valleys, historic sites, luxury resorts, spas, nightlife, eating out...

Travel is big business the world over and its market increasingly competitive. Affordable luxury, package holidays, special offers, accumulating air miles, shop till you drop, visa at entry... Ah! Very attractive and challenging too. A smart traveller will wonder where the catch lies. Because, travelling today is much more than packing a bag with a few essentials and taking off; it is about making the right choices -- based on the information available on the internet about hotels, tour operators, car rentals and more. The idea is to provide full information to a tourist before he leaves home. And these are just a few departments where the industry falls short.