Review of Issues Related to Tourism Policies regarding Environmental Management and Customary Practices of Tourism in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

The purpose of this study is to highlight the issues and problems of tourism planning, policy formulation and implementation in Gilgit-Baltistan-mountainous region of Pakistan-a place which is abound with worth seeing natural scenes and also hub of world＇s highest mountain ranges. Tourism in many countries plays an important role in improving not only economic conditions but it also has been used as a tool to preserve environment. Tourism policy is part of national development policy in many countries, but in Pakistan this sector has been ignored in terms of proper policy formulation and also it was not considered as a potential sector for economic betterment. Although Pakistan, particularly Gilgit-Baltistan is replete with tourism resources, haplessly policy makers never focused on this sector in capitalizing these tourism resources. It also covers the traditional practices of 4 As （Access, Attractions, Accommodation and Acceptance） in Gilgit-Baltistan. In Pakistan, there have been different laws and regulations formulated with the passage of time but they have not been implemented properly. In Pakistan, tourism policy was first prepared in 1983 but it was not enforced appropriately. According to ranking of WEF T＆T （World Economic Forum Travel and Tourism） competitiveness index, Pakistan is ranked below average in policy formulation and implementation.