Travel writing is a fine art and an accepted literary genre, written by those who are gifted with an ability to understand what they see and can breathe life into a place when they narrate their travel experiences.
The Internet, wrongly considered a pedestal for instantaneous scribbles mixed with emoticons and indecipherable abbreviations, has already become a place to find some good travel literature, travelogues, and travel stories in addition to online trading of travel services. It can be one of the best places for travel writers to showcase what their countries have to offer.
Travel is a prosperity and leisure pursuit, which is a result of many things: history, heritage, culture, natural beauty, a quest to know what is unknown, and meet wonderful people.
Pakistan is a land of geographical, geological, and natural contrasts. It has everything nature could bestow, from the Mehr Garh in Balochistan and Harappa in Punjab, where some of the initial human activities began, to Lots Valley (NWFP), once home to the Gandhara Civilization, where Chinese Hiuen Tsiang, regarded as an early trendsetter traveler, did tread.
Pakistan boasts the ancient city of Multan that, according to legend, has been around since the time of Hazrat Noah (A.S.), as well as the Kalash community, existing in an on-the-edge district of Chitral, and still waiting for anthropologists' conclusive research about the origin of their unique identity against all outside pressures for development and modernity.
Additionally, Pakistan holds the unsolved riddle of rivers lost (River Hakra in Cholistan) to pristine locations in Northern Pakistan (tree line in Himalaya Range), where one can see two seasons at the same place – winter above and summer below, and the thematic pilgrims for Sikh and Buddhist communities, to name just a few.
All major national publications have designated some pages for travel writing, but it is a small and competitive market. For those who write in English – a language that is understood on the World Wide Web – the market is even smaller.
Experienced travel writers are associated with newspapers and magazines, and new writers get a chance to appear in print only occasionally. There should be more travel journalism and industry news. The public should know if the Ministry of Tourism reduces royalty fees by 50 percent for climbing Pakistani mountains that are above 6000 meters.
On the other hand, fact-packed guidebooks with eye-catching, superb, clear, and sharp images of people and places enlivening every page provide good background information into any country's history, culture, attractions, and its people – information useful during journeys to new places.
Article comments
1 - Doll
So far travel is only at a sellect places. More of the world is still unexplored. Travel activities will grow when more people think and do like this.
2 - Bill Robinson
I don't think that soliciting writings from a local is always the best approach. Certainly the local can tell many interesting things that a casual visitor would not find, but at the same time the first timer will bring a fresh approach and an unbiased eye to the site and will often see things that the local person has come to accept as normal, everyday goings on.
So when I first enter a local Chinese market and buy a fresh pigeon, and the seller takes it out of the cage with it's wings flapping lustily and thrusts it into a steaming pot of boiling water in order to defeather and kill the bird, the local might think nothing of that, whereas I, as an owner of two much loved parrots, lost my appetite for dinner that evening.
Even the fact that when I returned to the USA and one of my parrots bit me for leaving her alone so long did not make me care for her any less, and I'm still not eating much chicken or cornish hen these days.
3 - Jamal Panhwar
Being in the tourism business it is very hard to Survive these days. The people are reluctant to travel to Pakistan due to adverse publicity. Although when the tourist do come they find Pakistan welcoming and touris have no face no problems whatsoever.
The Pakistan as a country has a lot to offer. In the Northern areas natural beuty which is unmatchable highest mountain ranges of the world numerous possiblities for adventure seekers. In the South very colorful culture ric history and superb architecture is again un matchable.
PTDC or Ministry of tourism like the rest of the Pakistani government machinery are basically just passing time hopefully with induction of Mr. Salman Javed there will be some improvement but will they let a person work in this setup that is another question.
In the private sector we are doing our best basically for our own survival.
Year 2007 is visit Pakistan year but untill now there seems to be nothing being done. Prime minister had announced a policy to promote tourism but no one has access to that policy in fact internal sources say there were no funds for the imlementation.
Jamal