Pakistan calls!
In the beginning...
About a decade ago, if someone mentioned ‘tour agency’ or ‘tour company’, what came to mind was a dingy office somewhere in a congested part of the city. These operators would offer standard level packages for international travel. As for domestic travel, the options would be limited to a weekend in Murree or Naran/Khaghan or Swat at the most. The more adventurous would perhaps go to Shogran or Siri Paye. Anything other than this was not considered mainstream. Only people living in northern Pakistan would consider venturing to Hunza, Skardu and beyond, either by car or by hiring a coach. Such places had not yet been explored by a wider public. Sindh and Balochistan were not seen as suitable destinations for tourists. They were known as underdeveloped areas and people would not even think of going there unless they had relatives living there or for business purposes.
How it started
Domestic tourism started to gain traction in 2013, when a handful of tour operators upped their game by offering tours all over Pakistan, including to now well-established spots such as Hunza and Kashmir, as well as Gwadar and Gorakh. As a result, these locations experienced an upsurge in visits due to the many people who started sharing their travel experiences on social media. Suddenly it became ‘cool’ to travel. This also gave rise to the travel blogger/vlogger (an established phenomenon in the West but unknown in Pakistan). In a country where the biggest entertainment was (and arguably still is) food, domestic travel became the next big frontier for entertainment.