ISLAMABAD - In a bid to promote domestic and international tourism in the country, the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs has hired services of three international companies to identify new tourism sites in the region of Gilgit-Baltistan. The Gilgit-Baltistan has great potential in the tourism sector and the federal government was working on a comprehensive programme to project various scenic destinations in the areas, official sources told APP. In its recently published ranking, Forbes has enlisted Pakistan among the '10 Coolest Places to Go in 2019’ along with Bhutan, Columbia, Mexico, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Mongolia, Rwanda, The Turkish Rivera and Portugal.

“Explore the valleys of Hunza, Shigar and Khaplu via the renowned Karakoram Highway,” suggested Sara Barbieri, a foreign tourist in her tweet.

Highlighting tourism potential in Pakistan, an article published in a foreign journal drew the tourists attention towards little-visited region in the far northeast of the country. "The region offers the kind of startlingly striking scenery that compels you to gaze from the window of your 4WD without blinking, for fear of missing a moment of the majesty of the landscape—or one of the astounding suspension bridges that cross the  surging rivers filled with snow melt.

To a question, the sources said two economic zones would also be established under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to provide job opportunities to locals for development and progress of the areas. Work on 200 kilometer corridor in Azad Jammu Kashmir was in progress to attract tourists, they added.