INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM FOR DEVELOPMENT. January 1, 2017 (2017-01)

 

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.

As the leading international organization in the field of tourism, UNWTO promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide.

Pakistan has a great opportunity for the tourism development based on its spectacular natural landscapes and unique cultural heritage. Tourism is one economic activity that has the potential to bring considerable benefits to the nation. Tourism can be used as a vehicle to deliver socio-economic benefits directly to rural and remote areas.

Pakistan is the only country which is host to three of the world's biggest and most spectacular mountain ranges, the Himalaya, the Karakoram and the Hindukush which consists of several hundred peaks. The convergence of these three ranges at Jaglot, an area around 40km away from Gilgit is an exclusive geographical feature on the planet. Among a total of 14 peaks with more than 8000 metre height in the world, five are in Pakistan which are K-2. Gasherbrum-1, Gasherbrum-2, Broad Peak and Nanga Parbat. The said mountain ranges have 160 peaks above 7,000 metres and around 700 peaks above 6,000 metres that really attract the climbers from all over the world.

K-2:- K-2, also known as Mount Godwin-Austen or Chhogori is the second highest mountain in the world, after Mount Everest, at 8,611 metres (28251 ft) above sea level. It is located on the China-Pakistan border in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of northern Pakistan.

K-2 is known as the Savage Mountain due to the extreme difficulty of ascent. It has the second-highest fatality rate among the eight thousanders. With around 300 successful summits and 77 fatalities, about one person dies on the mountain for every four who summit It is more difficult and hazardous to reach the peak of K-2 from the Chinese side, thus it is usually climed from Pakistan side. K-2 has never been claimed during winter.

Nanga Parbat:- Nanga Parbat (literally, Naked Mountain) is the ninth highest mountain in the world at 8,126 meters (26,660 ft) above sea level. It is the western anchor of the Himalayas around which the Indus river skirts into the plains of Pakistan. It is located in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan and is locally known as 'Deo Mir', 'Deo' meaning "huge' "Mir' meaning 'mountain".

Nanga Parbat one of the eight-thousanders, is an immense, dramatic peak rising far above its surrounding terrain, Nanga Parbat is also a notoriously difficult climb. Numerous mountaineering deaths in the mid and early 20th century lent it the nickname "killer mountain".

Nanga Parbat forms the western anchor of the Himalayan range and is the westernmost eight-thousander. It lies just south of the Indus River in the Diamer District of Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan. Not far to the north is the western end of the Karakoram range

Gasherbrum-l:- Gasherbrum-I also known as Hidden Peak or K-5, is the 11th highest mountain in the world at 8,080 metres (26,510 ft) above sea level. It is located on the Pakistan-Chinese border in Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan and Xinjiang region of China.

Gasherbrum-I is part of the Gasherbrum massif, located in the Karakoram region of the Himalaya. Gasherbrum is often claimed to mean "Shining Wall", presumably a reference to the highly visible face of the neighboring peak Gasherbrum IV, but in fact it comes from "rgasha" (beautiful) + "brum" (mountain) in Balti, hence it actually means "beautiful mountain". There are six Gasherbrum peaks and Gasherbrum-1 is one of them.

Broad Peak:- Board peak is the 12th highest mountain in the world at 8,051 meters (26414 ft) above sea level Broad peak is part of the Gasherbrum massif in Baltistan on the border of Pakistan and China. It is located in the Karakoram mountain rage about 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) from K-2. It has a summit over 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) long.

The mountain has several summits: Broad Peak, Rocky Summit, Broad Peak Central, Broad Peak North, and Kharut Kangri.

The first ascent of Broad Peak was made between June 8 and 9, 1957 by Fritz wintersteller, Marcus Schmuck, Kurt Diemberger, and Hermann Buhl of an Austrian expedition led by Marcus Schmuck.

A first attempt by the team was made on May 29, 1957 where Fritz winteresteller and Kurt Diemberger reached the forepeak (8,030 m). This was also accomplished without the aid of supplemental oxygen, high altitude porters nor base camp support.

In July 2013, a group of five Iranian climbers attempted to ascend through a new route from the southwestern face. Three of them-Aidin Bozorgi, Pouya Keivan, and Mojtaba Jarahi -ascended successfully but during descent all three of them were lost and declared dead.

To celebrate the International year of sustainable Tourism Development-2017 generate joint benefits through increased cooperation, networking and partnerships among sustainable tourism stakeholders number of activities have been planned which include but not limited to:-

·         Tourism awareness Seminars at different schools, colleges and universities

·         Tourism Workshops.

·         Tourism Convention.

·         Issuance of Commemorative Postage Stamps.

To Commemorate the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for the Development-2017 and to focus national and international attention on the vast potential for mountaineering that Pakistan has, the Pakistan Post bringing out a series of 4 postage stamps on this prestigious occasion, depicting the four famous above 8000 height peaks i.e., K-2. Nanga Parbat, Gasherbrum-l and Broad Peak

On International Year of Sustainable for Tourism Development-2017, a set of Four Commemorative Postage Stamps of Rs. 10/-each denomination is being issued by Pakistan Post on January 1, 2017.