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The past few years have seen a steady increase in foreign tourists visiting Pakistan and it looks like the trend is set to continue as Pakistan topped Condé Nast Traveller's list of best holiday destinations for 2020.

"The adventure traveller’s must-visit goes from strength to strength," wrote the award-winning luxury and lifestyle travel magazine, and highlighted popular destinations in Pakistan. The list also features other up-and-coming destinations such as Lebanon, Panama, Croatia, Morocco and the British Virgin Islands.

The magazine's list chooses destinations based on "major events and trends around the world" and aims to be "geographically diverse, as well as one that covers a range of trips, from eco-tourism to adventure, to inspire every type of traveller. There are the destinations that have been on our radar for a while, but keep getting better."

Tourist traffic has seen a massive increase of 317% over the past five years, while the number of international tourists visiting Pakistan more than tripled between 2013 and 2016. Over 1.4 million international arrivals are expected by the end of 2019, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council, but Pakistan still lags behind neighbours in the region and was ranked the least competitive country in South Asia this year when it comes to travel and tourism by the World Economic Forum.

It also seems Condé Nast Traveller's list has been updated more recently. As of early November, Pakistan's ranking on the list came in at #5, not #1. Some were quick to point it out.

It isn't immediately clear why Pakistan moved up the rankings (or beat Kyoto!), but we'll take it.

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