Our Work

Pakistan Tourism Forum (PTF)

The tourism industry has emerged as a major income-driving industry in many developing and under-developed countries in the world. There are many examples that show how the thriving tourism sector can have positive impact on economic growth, employment generation and overall socio-economic development of the country.

Pakistan is blessed with natural beauty, cultural diversity and rich historical background. In spite of being blessed with a full range of tourism attractions, so far we have not been fully successful in exploiting this potential. Tourism has remained an underrated industry in Pakistan mainly due to

the low priority given to it by the government. It has resulted in public sector paying little attention to this sector in real terms over the last five decades, which has resulted in a drifting apart of the public and private sectors and decline in the overall growth of tourism in Pakistan. Moreover there has been lack of support by the government in assisting the private sector with any form of management, organizational or policy structure that could allow the private sector to play its due role in the progress of this industry.

Moreover, as a result of 18th Amendment in the constitution of Pakistan, Federal Ministry of Tourism was devolved in 2010 and PTDC which has been functioning as the federal government’s arm for the promotion and development of tourism in the country has been left in undefined form and is facing a serious financial crises as the federal government has stopped allocating any funds to PTDC for the promotional activities and developmental work. Now the provinces are responsible to promote tourism within their boundaries but there is serious lack of coordination at national level, cooperation among the provinces and private sector. The gap between public and private sector has further widened over the last six years and as indicated in the TTCI Report tourism in Pakistan is facing its lowest level ever in Pakistan.
This is very alarming situation and it demands a serious efforts from the tourism industry stakeholders to join hands and develop an action plan for the revival of tourism in Pakistan. Therefore, in order to create a common platform for effective collaboration among the stakeholders of tourism industry of Pakistan, we have decided to establish Pakistan Tourism Forum (PTF) as a Think Tank on Tourism in Pakistan with the following objectives:-.

To promote collaboration and cooperation among the stakeholders of private and public sectors to work jointly for the revival of tourism in Pakistan.
To create a group of experts representing various segments of tourism industry to sensitize federal and provincial governments to recognize tourism and hospitality as a priority sector and make it an important segment of economic growth in the country.
To develop a short to mid-term private sector led action plan for the revival of tourism in Pakistan.
To promote research in tourism sector for better planning and sensible decision making.
To build capacity of tourism industry stakeholders to respond effectively in the crisis situation.
To create awareness about the sustainable development of tourism and hospitality sector in Pakistan.

This forum has representation of all the segments of tourism industry such as travel agents, tour operators, hospitality sector, transport sector, academia, civil society organizations and public sector organizations etc. It acts as a national think tank on tourism in Pakistan and provides advice and expert opinion to policy makers and major stakeholders on the sustainable development of tourism in Pakistan The membership to this form is purely on voluntarily basis and only those professionals from tourism industry have been invited to join it who are highly experienced in their area of expertise and are motivated and willing to work for this national cause. The forum has its secretariat in the office of Sustainable Tourism Foundation Pakistan at Islamabad and has a five members’ core committee to facilitate the process of its working.

Green Trekking Campaign

The northern territories of Pakistan are renowned for their natural beauty and attractive mountain landscape. It is the meeting places of great mountain ranges of the Himalayas, the Karakorums, Hindukush and Pamir. Because of its unmatched beauty of natural landscape, it is known as a paradise for trekkers and adventure tourists. However, over the last few decades the ever increasing tourism activity in this area, especially the rapid growth in domestic tourism is becoming a serious threat to the fragile natural environment and the landscape beauty. Every summer thousands of foreign and domestic trekkers and adventure tourists visit these mountains areas. Many of popular trekking routes are already polluted to the point of being dangerous to both people’s health and the natural environment.

In order to save the natural landscape of Pakistan’s great mountain areas from the irresponsible tourism, Sustainable Tourism Foundation Pakistan (STFP) has launched an awareness and public advocacy campaign under the title of “Green Trekking”. The slogan of this campaign is “take nothing but photos, leave nothing but footprints”.

In this campaign, STFP has developed Green Trekking Code of Ethics for the trekkers and visitors going to these mountain areas to educate the trekkers about the practical steps which they can take to minimize their negative impact on the natural, cultural and economic impacts.

Mission Green Pakistan – Clean Pakistan

The Mission of our Green Pakistan – Clean Pakistan Campaign is to make Pakistan a green and clean country for its citizens and an attractive tourist destination for its visitors. Pakistan’s tree cover is decreasing at an alarming rate — massive deforestation started in the 1990s as remote areas opened up with the construction of roads, and it has not ceased. The greatest victims are the conifer forests in our mountainous areas. According to the FAO, Pakistan lost 840,000 hectare of forest cover between 1990 and 2010 and the rate of loss of forests is 42,000 hectares per year. Forest-to-land ratio in Pakistan in 2010 was 2.19 per cent as reported in a World Bank report published in 2012, which is far below the ideal standard of 33%, forest cover for a country.

The Green Pakistan – Clean Pakistan campaign of Sustainable Tourism Foundation Pakistan is intended to inspire Pakistani citizens across the nation to actively participate in tree plantation drive to make our country truly green by planning and taking care of millions of saplings. We invite people from all walks of life to start from your home, street, town, village and city and also invite others to do as a national cause because it is important for our own survival and the survival of our future generations.

Indiscriminate littering and poor waste management practices are also a big environmental issue of Pakistani society. We also encourage all to participate in a nationwide cleanup campaign and start removing waste from our neighborhoods and streets and also motivate other people to participate in this national cause to make our country a beautiful place to live and an attractive tourist destination for visitors. Under this campaign STFP regularly organize tree plantation and cleanup activities on time to time bases by involving volunteer members and raise general awareness through its Facebook page. Please go to this link and like our website of this campaign www.missiongreenpakistan.com .

Indus Dolphin Ecotourism Project

Sustainable Tourism Foundation Pakistan has launched a project with the help of NRSP-USAID Small Grants and Ambassador’s Fund Program for seeking fishermen community and general public support for the conservation of unique Indus Blind Dolphin.

Indus River dolphin (Platanista minor) which is locally known as Bulhan occurs only in the Indus River in Pakistan. It is also known as Indus blind dolphin as it is functionally blind due to its unique adaptation to living in turbid river environment over the long period of time.He informed that historically these dolphins were found in large number right from the Indus estuary up into the foothills of the Himalayas but now the current population of Bulhan in Indus River from Jinnah Barrage to Kotri Barrage is just around 1400 which is not very healthy number for the survival of any wild animal species due to which it is listed as an “Endangered Species” by the World Conservation Union (IUCN).

This project is working with the local fishermen community of Taunsa Barrage by raising their awareness about this unique species and by building their capacity to improve their services and skills to deal with nature loving tourists who will be willing to come for dolphin watching, bird watching and cultural sightseeing trips in organized groups. On one hand this project is providing help in conservation of this unique species and on the other hand it is improving the livelihood of local fisherman community. The income from the ecotourism activity will be an incentive and reward for the poor fishermen community and it will encourage them to be friendlier with Indus River dolphin and play active role to conserve one of the most unique species living in the world today. These activities combined will help in the long-term conservation of River Indus Dolphin. Please go to this link and like our face book page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Indus-Dolphin-Ecotourism-Project/610001945792912?ref=hl or for more information visit our website of this project www.indusdolphin.org.

Back to Nature – Youth Environment Leadership Program

Back to Nature – NYELPis a national environment leadership program for young people aimed at providing them with both leadership training, and unique learning opportunities not available at home or in the classroom. Sustainable Tourism Foundation Pakistan has designed this program for participants (ages 16 – 22), bringing forth the elements of nature and the great outdoors into an exciting educational experience.

Today’s youth in continuously burdened. Surrounded by the pressures of academics and social stigma, they battle with themselves internally and with the world around them. With our lives growing more hectic every day, this program strives to deal with these challenges by exposing Pakistan’s youth to the beautiful world around them. This is a chance to discover your potential, explore your options, and overcome your fears, and to instill in each member a passion to contribute to the positive development of Pakistan.

To achieve these goals, Back to Nature – NYELP focuses on team-work and establishing a solid set of skills to teach participants how to work together to successfully complete their journey in the wilderness. To enhance the experience, we incorporate group and individual challenges that develop self awareness, spark significant personal growth, and build confidence.

Taking part in our Back to Nature program offers young people not only the chance to see a wide range of the natural beauty our country, but it also to allow them to meet and socialize with diverse groups of people, work together to attain common goals and establish a sense of unity and national integration.

Under this program, each year four groups of 25 male participants and two groups of 25 female participants in the age group of 16-22 who will be carefully selected from all over Pakistan will be taken to wilderness locations on a one week backpacking expedition. If you are interested to know more about this project, please contact us by sending an email at stfpak@gmail.com or call at +92-51-2612448

Tourism and SGDs

During the 70th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, a record of 154 heads of state or government gathered at the UN Sustainable Development Summit in New York from 25-27 September 2015 to formally adopt the bold and ambitious 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, along with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals that aim at, inter alia, – ending extreme poverty, fighting inequality and injustice, and tackling climate change.

Based on this universal, integrated and transformative vision, UNWTO is placing its efforts in contributing with its technical assistance and capacity-building to the achievement of these global goals.

Sustainable Tourism Foundation Pakistan will be supporting the efforts of UNWTO for creating awareness and develop linkages with the key stakeholders in Pakistan to achieve the SGDs, with a special focus on Goals 8,12,14, in which tourism has been featured

Promotion of Sustainable Archeological Tourism in Swat Valley

In pursuance to its objectives to promote archaeological tourism in the country, Sustainable Tourism Foundation Pakistan in collaboration with Tourism Corporation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (TCKP) and Italian Archaeological Mission’s ACT Project has launched a project to promote sustainable archaeological tourism by promoting cultural and archaeological heritage sites of Pakistan.

In this connection, STFP organized an Essay Competition on the topic of Archaeological Tourism among the students of colleges and universities of Pakistan. A large number of entries for this competition were received from all over Pakistan and 10 best essay writers were selected by the judges to win an all paid in trip to Swat.

The winners were invited to participate in the inaugural tour of STFP’s archaeological Tourism to the lower Swat Valley which was held from 09 to 10 May 2014. In this connection, STFP regularly organized guided field trips to various archaeological sites for its members and also building the capacity of local communities and concerned stakeholders to play their role for the protection and promotion of cultural and archaeological heritage of our country. STFP has also developed printed material for the education of interested tourists. To find out more about this project, please contact us by sending an email at stfpak@gmail.com or call at 051-2612448

Summer Nature Study Camp for Kids

The Environmental Education Wing of STFP provides exciting & educational adventure outings for young students of all ages, backgrounds, and experience levels. Our “Back to Nature- School Summer Nature Study Camp focuses on providing leadership training & learning opportunities that are not available in the classroom or at home. To achieve these goals, we teach students necessary skills and how to work together to successfully complete their journey in the mountains. To enhance the experience, we incorporate group & individual challenges that develop spark significant personal growth, and build confidence. We believe that the experience must be fun to be successful! In this way we make sure to give students the chance to spend time in safe natural environment, away from their usual lives.

Highlights of Summer Nature Study Camp

Learn camping and trekking skills.
Learn leadership and teamwork skills.
Learn basic map reading and navigation skills.
Learn about mountain formation.
Learn about water cycle.
Collect information about the moist temperate and dry temperate forest zones.
Tree plantation.
Learn how to become an eco-friendly tourist.
Hiking trip to Saiful Muluk Lake National Park.
Trekking adventure to Lalazar.
Discover the natural and cultural heritage of Naran and Upper Kaghan Valley.
Trip to Jalkhad to study the wild flora of sub-alpine ecosystem.
Enjoy camp fire on the last night.

For details please contact us by sending an email at stfpak@gmail.com or call at 051-2612448

Promotion of Pro-Poor Tourism

Tourism is often claimed to be the largest industry in the world, thus creates both opportunities and responsibilities. Tourism can bring great benefits to the local communities but only if it brings sustainable livelihoods, employment or additional incomes.

Pro-poor Tourism it is an approach that seeks to utilize tourism as strategic tool to alleviate poverty among the marginalized communities. Any form of tourism can contribute to poverty reduction if planned with a strategic focus on local communities.

For this to happen, specific ways need to be identified in which tourism businesses as well as tourists can directly and indirectly generate benefits for the poor. This is what Pro-Poor Tourism is all about. Pro-poor Tourism can be defined as tourism which provides net benefits for poor people. It is not the same as ecotourism or community-based tourism, although these forms of tourism can be pro-poor; i.e. they can bring net benefits to the poor.

In order to promote the concept of Pro-Poor Tourism in Pakistan, Sustainable Tourism Foundation Pakistan has started a community capacity building project. In this connection, STFP organizes training workshops on regular basis at various locations of Pakistan with the help of national NGOs and CBOs. The main objective of these workshops is to provide the knowledge and skills to develop clear understanding about the true meaning of pro-poor tourism and to find out the opportunities about launching showcase projects of pro-poor tourism in various areas of Pakistan.

Sustainable Tourism Network

One of the main objects of STFP is to create awareness and share information with the general public and industry stakeholders about the best practices of sustainable tourism, ecotourism, pro-poor tourism and other forms of responsible tourism. This goal is achieved through publications, bi-monthly e-newsletters, quarterly newsletter, social media, meetings, focus group discussion, seminars and workshops.

STFP has also created a membership based network under the title of Sustainable Tourism Network Pakistan (STN) to share the knowledge about the best practices among the likeminded people all over Pakistan.

Large numbers of likeminded people are part of this network and regularly receive information through bi-monthly e-newsletter and participate in the field trips and events on time to time basis. STFP’s page on Facebook is also quite popular and a great source of sharing information with interested members which number has more than 4500 members.

Promotion of Community based Heritage Tourism at Rohtas Fort

Around the world there is now an increased recognition of the needs for the involvement of local community specifically, youth, in the conservation and preservation of their cultural and natural heritage. UNESCO Convention on World Heritage asks for giving heritage a function in the lives of people and enhance the role of community in management and protection of heritage sites through awareness raising and developing economic stakes.

In Pakistan, there is now growing awareness that the future of Pakistan’s remaining heritage will largely depend on the decisions and actions of the present generation of young people who will soon become the leaders and decision-makers of tomorrow.

Recognizing these facts, UNESCO Islamabad with the collaboration of Sustainable Tourism Foundation Pakistan undertook a series of interventions focusing on engaging the local community and youth in safeguarding cultural heritage in the area of Rohtas Fort – a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The project has been made possible by the generous support of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS).

Under the title of “Engage Local Community and Youth in Safeguarding Heritage and Promote Heritage Entrepreneurship through capacity building and awareness raising at Rohtas Fort”, an effort was made to build the capacity of local community through several initiatives:

Capacity Building Training Workshop on Heritage Entrepreneurship for Women

Much of the community living in and around Rohtas Fort is considerably conservative, and in many households, women remain at home. Among those who have professional careers, most work as teachers for local schools. The central aim of this workshop was to develop crafts skills among these women and guide them on the basics of setting up a small enterprise. The long-term goal is to bring economic stability to the community and empower women to earn a living through their craft skills.

The workshops were held in female-only spaces within the village, and led by a female instructor, to encourage participation. This group of trainees now works as community-based enterprise named ‘Rohtas Heritage Crafts’. The products developed by trainees will be available for sale on a website for Rohtas Fort, which is also being developed under this project. Proceeds from the sales will be channeled back into further expanding the enterprise.

In addition, selected high school students were also trained in the unique art if replica coin making. During this process, students were also taught about the ethics of developing and selling replicas, and the value of keeping original objects on display in museums. The sets of replica coins are available as souvenirs for sale through this website.

Capacity Building Training Workshop for Teachers on Engaging Community in Safeguarding Cultural Heritage at Rohtas Fort

A workshop was conducted to build the capacity of teachers for instilling knowledge, skills, and responsible social behaviors among their students about safeguarding cultural heritage. Lectures, presentation, group work, and field surveys were conducted by trainers on the topics of heritage education, community engagement in heritage protection, heritage entrepreneurship, and developing a sense of responsibility among the local community to play active role in the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage.

Educational tool kits on heritage conservation developed by UNESCO were also distributed among the training participants to use as a resource material for conducting awareness raising conducing sessions in their schools. Students were also engaged in extra-curricular activities such as trash clean up drives, art, and essay writing competitions and more, based on themes of heritage conservation.

Training Program for Tour Guides at Rohtas Fort

Many locals rely on working as tour guides at Rohtas Fort to earn a living. These local tour guide operate with the permission of the Provincial Directorate of Archaeology, but do not possess official certification. The main goal of this training was to develop theoretical knowledge and procedural skills for those already working as tour guides who wanted to polish their skills and gain proper certification, as well as those who were entirely new to the field of professional tourism. Following an intense 7-day training program that covered topics such as historical research and fact-checking, developing custom tours, pricing models, basic First Aid, and more, trainees were tasked with leading a tour to demonstrate their newly acquired skills.

After completing this training, all participants were awarded certification, and an agreement was reached to formalize them as ‘Rohtas Fort Tourist Guide Association’. This will facilitate a steady income stream for local communities, and further incentivize them to safeguard heritage sites based on their historic as well as economic value.

Promotional Materials & Website

Promotional material for Rohtas Fort in the form of leaflets and posters has been developed in both Urdu and English. This material will be made available at the Fort, as well as in surrounding regions to raise awareness. This website for Rohtas Fort is also a valuable resource through which visitors can gain factually incorrect information about the history of the region, as well as updated information on tourist facilities at the site. The website provides information on how to book a tour in advance, and visitors can also purchase locally made handicrafts from the website, to support local entrepreneurs. To know more about this initiative please visit our website of this project www.visitrohtasfort.com

Promotion of Responsible Tourism in Kalasha Valleys

Funded by SDC and supported UNESCO Pakistan and Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the project “Strengthening the Resilience of Kalasha Communities through Protection and Promotion of their Cultural Heritage” was implemented by STFP during 2019 and 2020. The aims of this project are to facilitate safeguarding of natural and cultural assets of the Kalasha valleys while developing sustainable ecotourism in the area through documentation and mapping of tangible and intangible cultural assets, capacity-building and awareness-raising trainings with stakeholders including local communities, law enforcement agencies and visitors, and, development of destination management systems and policies to bring about sustained development and increase in livelihood for local communities.

Following are the key achievements of this project:-

Installation of 40 tourist information signboard as per international standards in three Kalasha Valleys under the supervision of DC Chitral and his team.
Development of Tourism Information Website on Chitral Valley visitchitralvalley.com to promote responsible tourism in Chitral as whole and particularly in three Kalasha Valleys. Interested visitors will not only be able to get updated information about tourist sites of Chitral through this web portal but they will also be able to book hotel rooms, services of tour guides, transport of their choice and package tours on discounted rates.
Development of software for introducing the E-entry ticket to Kalash Valleys. This software is ready and need a dedicated bank account from DC Chitral office to collect the entry fee.
Publication of Travel Guide and Hotel Director on Kalasha Valleys. This guide book will be available on local shops and TICs for sale on nominal price.
A 6 day training workshop for local tour guides was arranged at Bamburiat Valley, Chitral from 29 April to 04 May 2019. A group of 30 trainees including 10 females from three Kalasha valleys participated in this training workshop held at Kalasha Continental Hotel. Now these guides are working as local community tour guides in three Kalasha Valleys.
A one day training workshop for KP Police Force Staff posted in three Kalasha Valleys of Chitral district on 02 May 2019. The purpose of this training workshop was to build the capacity of KP Police Force staff to develop their understating of and appreciation of Kalasha Culture and to equip them with management techniques to handle tourists and locals during the peak tourist season in a sensitive and effective manner. 46 Police Force staff members including three females attended this training workshop held at PTDC Motel Bamburiat.
The third training workshop was organized from 29 April to 04 May for the hotel managers and staff working in the hotels and restaurants in the Kalasha Valleys. 22 male and 2 female members from local hotels participated in this training workshop held at Alexander Post Hotel.
A one day training workshop for tour operators, tour guides and transport service providers at Chitral town on 17^th The purpose of this training workshop was to build the capacity of these tourism service providers to learn about how they can provide an authentic touristic experience about the culture of Kalasha people to the foreign and domestic visitors as well as to promote responsible and sustainable tourism in three Kalash valleys. A group of 18 trainees participated in this training workshop held at Pameer River Inn Chitral.
On 18-19 August, STFP organized a two days training workshop at Bamburiat for KP Police Force Staff posted in three Kalasha Valleys of Chitral district. The purpose of this training workshop was to build the capacity of Police Force staff to develop their understating about Kalasha Culture and to equip them with management skills to handle tourists and locals during the peak tourist season in an efficient and effective manner. 35 Police Force staff members including three females attended this training workshop held at PTDC Motel Bamburiat.
On 20 August 2019, an one day training for the Representatives of Kalash Community from three Kalash Valley was held at PTDC Motel Bamburet. 18 male and 4 female members from local community participated in this training workshop. The topic of understanding of sustainable ecotourism and impacts of tourism and managing these impacts with the better engagement of local community were covered in this training workshop.

Capacity Building of Tour Guides

In Pakistan, there is serious shortage of trained tour guides. In order to fill the gap of trained tour guides and to improve the standards of tour operation services, Sustainable Tourism Foundation Pakistan (STFP) annually organize two Tour Guides Training Programs. STFP organize this training program for tour guide in collaboration with Department of Tourist Services (DTS), PTDC, Adventure Foundation Pakistan (AFP), and Pakistan Association of Tour Operators (PATO). Most experienced tourism trainers and experts of tour guiding are invited to conduct the sessions of this training program. Male and female candidates who fulfill the selection criteria can participate in this course.

This training course is divided into two parts comprising on procedural knowledge and technical skills which a guide should have to conduct a group of tourists in mountain areas in a professional manner. Tour group management, sharing information with tourists in an interesting way, leading group of tourists through mountain terrain safely and comfortably, wilderness travel skills, camping and trekking skills, clothing and outfitting, first aid and rescue procedures, environment ethics, navigational skills and making arrangements for transport, lodging and boarding, establishing good security of visitors and dealing with general emergencies are major component of this training program.

The trainees who successfully complete this training program are awarded certificates and are provided assistance to get tour guide license from Department of Tourist Services (DTS).

For details please contact us by sending an email at stfpak@gmail.com or call at 051-2612448

Pakistan Tourism Forum (PTF)

STFP’s Pakistan Tourism Forum (PTF) acts as a National Think Tank on Tourism in Pakistan and provides advice and expert opinion to policy makers and major stakeholders on the sustainable development of tourism in Pakistan. It also provides a common platform for effective collaboration among the stakeholder and has representation of all the segments of tourism industry such as travel agents, tour operators, hospitality sector, transport sector, academia, civil

society organizations and public sector organizations etc. The membership to this forum is by invitation and only those professionals from tourism industry are invited to join it that are highly experienced in their area of expertise and are motivated and willing to work for this national cause.

Aims and Objectives of PTF:-

To promote collaboration and cooperation among the stakeholders of private and public sectors to work jointly for the revival of tourism in Pakistan.
To create a group of experts representing various segments of tourism industry to sensitize federal and provincial governments to recognize tourism and hospitality as a priority sector and make it an important segment of economic growth in the country.
To develop short to mid-term private sector led action plans for the development of tourism in Pakistan.
To promote research in tourism sector for better planning and sensible decision making.
To build capacity of tourism industry stakeholders to respond effectively in the crisis situation.
To create awareness about the sustainable development of tourism and hospitality sector in Pakistan.