What is tourism?
Tourism is travel for pleasure; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours.
Types of tourism:
Archaeological tourism;
Pakistan is the cradle of two ancient civilizations-the Indus Valley Civilisation and the Gandhara Civilisation. In particular, the excavations of the Gandhara civilization represent one of the oldest remains of the Buddhist culture in Asia and are of special spiritual significance for the Buddhists living in the affluent regions of East and South East Asia. Then there are monuments built by successive dynasties and rulers, particularly the Mughals. These include the Royal Fort, Badshahi Mosque, Shalimar Garden, Tombs of Emperor Jehangir and Empress Noor Jehan, Rohtas Fort and the Shah Jahan Mosque.
Adventure tourism;
Pakistan has some of the world’s highest mountains in a knot of four great mountain ranges, the Hindu Kush, Pamir, Karakoram and the Himalayas. The country has the distinction of having five peaks above 8,000 meters each including the second loftiest mountain of K-2. The country also has the largest glaciers on the globe outside the polar region. These mountains and glaciers offer a tremendous attraction for adventurers.
Conventional tourism:
This form of tourism includes festivals, sports, customs, traditions and arts and crafts. Among the festivals, basant is arguably the most popular from international tourism perspective. Celebrated in February-March to herald the spring, basant attracts a large number of foreign tourists.
Benefits of tourism:
There are a number of benefits of tourism for both the tourist and the host destination. On a large scale it offers a good alternative to some more destructive industries for generating income both on nationally and privately.
The tourism industry encompasses many different areas, so it also creates jobs in many different areas. With tourism comes hotels, resturants, car rental agencies, tour companies, service stations, souvenier shops, sports equipment rentals, and much more. All of this creates many different levels of employment for people in a given community.
In many places the introduction and development of tourism allows local people an opportunity for economic and educational growth that would not otherwise be available. In addition, it allows both the tourist and the local community a chance to experience other cultures, which broadens understanding.
If properly used, tourism generated income can be tremendously beneficial to the host country and it's local communities. Tourism generated income can be used on a national and local level to better education, improve infrastructure, to fund conservation efforts, and to promote more responsible tourism.
