{"id":102576,"date":"2025-06-24T11:12:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-24T06:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zameen.com\/news\/?p=102576"},"modified":"2025-06-23T18:19:51","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T13:19:51","slug":"gb-approves-469-climbing-permits-in-a-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zameen.com\/news\/gb-approves-469-climbing-permits-in-a-day.html","title":{"rendered":"GB breaks record with 469 climbing permits approved in a day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Gilgit: Gilgit-Baltistan\u2019s (GB) tourism sector marked a historic milestone over the weekend as the region\u2019s Tourism Department approved 469 mountaineering and trekking visa applications in a single day \u2014 the highest number of such permits ever processed within 24 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Officials confirmed that the department had received a total of 555 applications for climbing expeditions in the 2025 season, already surpassing last year\u2019s total of 423. The significant surge in interest is being attributed to GB\u2019s inclusion in several international \u201cMust Visit Destinations for 2025\u201d lists, notably by CNN. These endorsements follow an aggressive global tourism campaign launched by the GB government in recent months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zameen.com\/news\/gb-revises-fee-structure-for-mountain-climbing.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Foreign, local climbers to benefit as GB revises fee structure<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is a direct outcome of our strategic outreach and reforms,\u201d said Zameer Abbas, Secretary of Tourism GB. \u201cWe\u2019re witnessing renewed global interest in the Karakoram and Himalayan ranges, particularly after improvements in permit policies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The spike in interest marks a major turnaround for the region\u2019s tourism economy, which faced turbulence last year due to controversial changes in permit fees. In late 2024, the GB government had increased fees substantially and replaced the group-based permit system with per-person charges \u2014 a move that drew criticism from tour operators and climbers, ultimately leading to a sharp drop in bookings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After facing legal challenges and industry pushback, the GB Chief Court issued a stay order on the revised fee structure. In response, the regional cabinet approved a more balanced pricing model in May 2025. The royalty fee for K2\u2019s summer climbing permit, for instance, was reduced from $5,000 to $3,500. Trekking fees were also lowered across all seasons to encourage more footfall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>GB is home to some of the world&#8217;s most iconic mountains and high-altitude terrains, including five peaks above 8,000 metres \u2014 K2 (8,611m), Nanga Parbat (8,126m), Gasherbrum I (8,080m), Gasherbrum II (8,035m), and Broad Peak (8,051m). The region also features over 100 peaks above 7,000 metres and houses some of the longest non-polar glaciers, making it a sought-after destination for climbers and trekkers worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tour operators say that the revised fee structure and fast-track processing have played a vital role in this year\u2019s renewed momentum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zameen.com\/news\/tunnel-linking-kaghan-and-naran-to-babusar-top.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">China to link Naran with GB via Babusar Top Tunnel<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe new system is not only affordable but also more efficient,\u201d said a representative of a Skardu-based expedition company. \u201cThis level of responsiveness from the government is something we haven\u2019t seen before.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the summer climbing season now underway, the record-breaking permit approvals are seen as a strong indicator of recovery and resilience for Pakistan\u2019s northern tourism sector. The GB government\u2019s proactive measures \u2014 from fee revisions to global outreach \u2014 appear to be paying off, just months after the industry stood at a crossroads.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gilgit: Gilgit-Baltistan\u2019s (GB) tourism sector marked a historic milestone over the weekend as the region\u2019s Tourism Department approved 469 mountaineering and trekking visa applications in a single day \u2014 the highest number of such permits ever processed within 24 hours. Officials confirmed that the department had received a total of 555 applications for climbing expeditions in the 2025 season, already surpassing last year\u2019s total of 423. The significant surge in interest is being attributed to GB\u2019s inclusion in several international \u201cMust Visit Destinations for 2025\u201d lists, notably by CNN. These endorsements follow an aggressive global tourism campaign launched by the GB government in recent months. Read: Foreign, local climbers to benefit as GB revises fee structure \u201cThis is a direct outcome of our strategic outreach and reforms,\u201d said Zameer Abbas, Secretary of Tourism GB. \u201cWe\u2019re witnessing renewed global interest in the Karakoram and Himalayan ranges, particularly after improvements in permit policies.\u201d The spike in interest marks a major turnaround for the region\u2019s tourism economy, which faced turbulence last year due to controversial changes in permit fees. In late 2024, the GB government had increased fees substantially and replaced the group-based permit system with per-person charges \u2014 a move that drew&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":101104,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15167],"tags":[65439,47032,13173,1702,65440,65437,65438,65442,65441,65443],"persona":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-102576","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tourism","8":"tag-climbing-season-2025","9":"tag-gb-tourism","10":"tag-gilgit-baltistan","11":"tag-k2","12":"tag-karakoram","13":"tag-mountaineering-permits","14":"tag-pakistan-adventure-tourism","15":"tag-tourism-reforms","16":"tag-trekking-in-pakistan","17":"tag-visa-approvals","18":"cat-15167-id"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>GB approves 469 climbing permits in a day - Zameen News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Officials confirmed that the department had received a total of 555 applications for climbing expeditions in the 2025 season, already...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zameen.com\/news\/gb-approves-469-climbing-permits-in-a-day.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"GB approves 469 climbing permits in a day - Zameen News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Officials confirmed that the department had received a total of 555 applications for climbing expeditions in the 2025 season, already...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.zameen.com\/news\/gb-approves-469-climbing-permits-in-a-day.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pakistan Real Estate News &amp; 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