For a Karachi-based family that usually plans an international holiday in December or January, the first choice this time was Maldives. It was the kind of trip they had planned before as a small family: husband, wife and their five-year-old child. But as airfares rose and the overall travel budget stretched beyond what they had set aside, the plan began to slip out of reach.

Instead, they decided to stay within Pakistan. Since the trip was now domestic, the family also included the husband’s brother and sister, travelling from Karachi and Lahore for a trip to Murree, Naran, Kaghan and Babusar Top. The thinking was simple: if Maldives had become too expensive, a local trip would be easier to manage.

It did not turn out that way.

They had expected the domestic trip to cost around Rs150,000 per person. After paying for flights from Karachi, road travel from Islamabad, hotel stays, food and local movement, the amount had reached nearly Rs200,000 to Rs210,000 per person. Maldives, they said, had been working out to around Rs250,000 per head.

“We expected it to be cheaper, but eventually it ended up costing almost the same as what we had planned for an international tour,” said Hassan, the husband who is the family’s holiday organiser.

Yet, the biggest cost that sent them reeling was not the journey, but the hotel stay. Since they were travelling with a child, they could not compromise too much on hotel quality, safety, food or rest. Cheaper rooms were available, but not always practical for a family.

“We could not compromise on a low-cost hotel because we wanted a good stay and proper sleep,” he said. “Food also matters a lot when you are travelling with a child.”

All the calculations done, domestic travel did not feel like a budget replacement for going abroad. It felt like another expensive version of the same holiday, and with fewer facilities.

“If you compare the places, hotels, environment and facilities you get internationally with what you get [in Pakistan] at almost the same price, it is sad,” he said.

Paying more for less

For tour operators, the biggest change is that the cost of a domestic trip can no longer be fixed for long. Fuel prices, hotel rates, food costs and local transport charges move too quickly for packages to remain stable through the season.

“Domestic tour packages have gone up by around 30 per cent to 50 per cent compared to what they were two years ago,” said Khurram Sheikh, a Karachi-based tour operator who arranges trips to Hunza, Skardu, Fairy Meadows, Naran, Kashmir and Swat. “Earlier, we could announce a price for the whole season. Now fuel, hotel and food costs change so quickly that we often revise packages after a few weeks.”

Transport is now one of the largest parts of the bill. For road-based group tours, operators say it can make up around 35 per cent to 45 per cent of the package cost, especially on longer routes where travellers first reach Islamabad and then continue by road towards Murree, Naran, Kaghan, Hunza or Skardu.

Jahanzeb Karimi, a Rawalpindi-based transport operator who arranges family tours to northern areas said vehicle rates have risen by around 30 per cent to 50 per cent in two years. A car or van that could earlier be hired for Rs12,000 to Rs25,000 a day can now cost Rs30,000 to Rs55,000, depending on the season, route and vehicle.

“Two years ago, families would ask which places we could cover in five or six days. Now they ask which places they can remove to reduce the cost,” he said. “Fuel, tolls, jeep rides, driver stay and road delays have made transport one of the biggest parts of a domestic tour budget.”

The costs travellers forget to consider are often the ones that hurt later – tolls, driver meals, driver accommodation, parking charges, local jeep rides and delays caused by traffic, protests, landslides or road closures. A family may budget for the main car, but not for a separate jeep to reach Saif-ul-Malook, Deosai, Fairy Meadows or valleys in Skardu. If a road closes and the trip extends by a day, the extra car rent, hotel stay and food also become part of the final bill.

That is why travellers who once chose destinations by view or weather are increasingly choosing them by distance. Hunza and Skardu remain aspirational, but families with tighter budgets are shifting towards Murree, Nathia Gali, Swat, Kashmir or shorter routes that require fewer days on the road.

The budget shock

For many families, the real budgeting starts only after they reach the destination and begin asking about rooms. The prices they remember from last year often do not exist anymore.

Hotels that were charging around Rs20,000 to Rs35,000 a night last season are now commonly asking Rs30,000 to Rs50,000 for similar rooms. On busy dates - especially during school holidays, Eid breaks and long weekends - the same rooms can climb to Rs60,000 or even Rs70,000.

That shift hits families harder than solo travellers or couples. A couple can still cut costs by choosing a smaller or more basic room, but families with children usually do not have that flexibility. They look for clean washrooms, hot water, proper bedding, safer surroundings and food the children can manage. Those basic needs often push them into hotels that are already above budget.

Hotel owners say travellers focus on the room price, but not on what it now costs to keep a hotel running. People think we just increase the rent for no reason," said Kaleem Ahmed, a hotel owner in Naran and Kaghan. “Electricity bills have gone up. So have generator fuel, laundry, staff salaries, kitchen supplies and routine maintenance. In places like Naran and Kaghan, where the main tourist season is short, many businesses also try to recover a large part of their yearly income in just a few busy months.”

The change is also visible in the way families now negotiate at hotel counters. According to hotel staff, guests ask for discounts more often than before. Some request complimentary breakfast. Others try to avoid booking an extra room by asking whether children can be adjusted without additional charges, or whether an extra mattress can be added instead.

"Earlier, if five people came, they would usually take two rooms," said Ahmed. "Now the first question is whether all of them can fit into one. We also get the same questions from tour operators as this is how the demands have changed our priorities during travel."

One hotel operator, Raja Sarfaraz in Keran Valley in Kashmir said that where a family of five may previously have booked two rooms without much discussion, many now first ask whether everyone can be accommodated in one. That, he said, reflects the pressure travel costs are putting on household budgets.

As a result, many travellers are no longer comparing one hotel with another. Families, especially larger ones, are now looking at apartments, guesthouses and cottages as practical alternatives. Shared spaces and the option to prepare tea or simple meals can reduce overall costs, even if the level of service is lower.

Sarfaraz said this has changed the competition as well. “Hotels are still getting guests, but they are no longer competing only with other hotels. They are also competing with private rentals and informal stays advertised online,” he added.

For travellers, the outcome is straightforward: the trip may still go ahead, but with more compromises. Families cut the number of nights, share rooms, spend less on meals and think more carefully about which comforts they can do without.

No cheap deals

For many young Pakistanis, social media has become the biggest travel planner. Instagram reels and TikTok videos inspire destinations, while travellers spend weeks hunting for discounts, comparing fares and piecing together affordable itineraries. Increasingly, however, even the best deals are no longer enough to keep domestic holidays within budget.

That was the experience of Simran Abeer, a young traveller who plans a domestic trip every year.

This year, Abeer decided to travel to Skardu with a group of 11 cousins, including eight adults and three children, after seeing videos of the region on TikTok and Instagram.

“We planned our trip to Skardu on our way back from Kashmir in 2024 after watching Instagram reels of Nanga Parbat and the direct flight that gives a beautiful view of the mountain from the airplane window.”

They expected the trip to cost around Rs140,000 per person. By the end, it had reached nearly Rs210,000 once everything was included.

The difference came from expenses that are easy to overlook while planning. Food, except breakfast, was not included. Activities and entry tickets were charged separately. A jeep safari at Sarfaranga Desert cost Rs10,000 for five people, paragliding Rs12,000 per person, speed boating at Upper Kachura Lake Rs6,000 for five people, and a zipline Rs3,500 per person. For Deosai, the group paid Rs25,000 for a Prado, while a jeep for Bashu Valley cost Rs9,000.

Compared with their Kashmir trip last year, they found airfares, road transport, hotels and jeep rides noticeably more expensive. Hotel rooms alone had gone up by around Rs2,000 per night.

To stay within budget, they cut back on activities, and shortened parts of the itinerary among other things. “We cut back on activities, shortened the trip, chose cheaper flights and held back on food to stay within our budget,” Simran said. “We also compromised a little on hotel quality.”

Travelling as a group helped because they could share rooms, but it did not make the trip inexpensive. Even so, the higher cost has not dampened her enthusiasm for exploring the country.

“Pakistan is very beautiful, and so much of it is still unexplored,” she said. “Until I have seen all of it, I will always prefer domestic trips over international ones.”

That is the paradox of domestic travel today: social media fuels the desire to explore, but rising costs increasingly determine how much of that dream travellers can afford.

The trip that survives

By the time a family reaches the final quote, the trip is often no longer the one they had first planned.

Tour operators say many enquiries still begin with places like Skardu, Hunza or a longer northern tour. But before anything is confirmed, the plan often starts shrinking. Some families cut the number of days. Some drop one destination from the itinerary. Some ask for meals to be included so they can keep the spending under control. Others ask whether the booking can be held until salary day.

Sheikh, a Karachi-based tour operator, said requests for flexible payment have become more common. "Earlier, families would usually pay an advance and clear the rest before departure," he said. "Now some ask if they can pay in parts, or if the final payment can wait until the month's salary comes in."

He said the change is obvious in the questions customers ask. A few years ago, people wanted to know which place had the better views, which hotel was in the better location, or how many spots could be covered in one trip. Now, he said, the main question is often much simpler: how much will the whole thing cost?

That is usually the point where plans begin to change. A per-person package may sound manageable at first, but the figure looks different when it is calculated for a family of four or five. Then the other expenses start getting added - food on the road, medicines, jackets, shopping, extra meals, emergency cash.

The trip does not always get cancelled. More often, it gets reduced. Families move dates around salary schedules, wait for Eid bonuses, use committee savings, or book earlier so they can spread the cost. In some cases, the holiday goes ahead only after it has been cut down.

That difference is now easier to see. Families with stronger budgets can still pay for better hotels, longer stays and easier travel. Middle-class families are still travelling too, but with more hesitation. They compare more, bargain more, delay decisions and cut back where they can.

The affordability question

The government has continued to speak of tourism as a sector with room to grow. Official messaging often focuses on promotion, new destinations, family festivals, sustainability, connectivity and Pakistan’s potential as a travel market. That ambition is not misplaced. The country has the landscapes, culture and routes to attract more visitors, both local and foreign.

But for domestic travellers, the question is now more basic. Is promotion enough if ordinary Pakistanis are finding it harder to afford the places being promoted?

There is also a difference between attracting tourists and making travel accessible. Better roads, improved facilities and social media visibility can increase demand, but without some form of price transparency or basic regulation, the same demand can push hotels, transporters and local services further out of reach for middle-class families.

This does not necessarily mean fixing every hotel rate or package price. Tourism is seasonal, costs vary and businesses also face inflation. But travellers argue that there should at least be clearer information on what packages include, what costs are excluded, how much local transport or jeep rides may cost, and whether domestic tourists can be protected from sudden peak-season jumps.

If tourism is to be promoted as a national asset, affordability for domestic travellers may also need to become part of the equation. For now, the desire to travel has not disappeared. Families still want a break from routine, young people still want to see the north, and tour operators still receive enquiries for the same destinations that fill social media feeds every season.

What has changed is the ease with which those plans turn into bookings.

Pakistan remains a country people want to explore. The mountains, valleys, lakes and roads have not lost their pull. But for many middle-class travellers, the distance is no longer measured only in kilometres. It is measured in airfares, fuel, hotel rooms, jeep rides and the growing cost of getting away.