The newly trade-friendly touring specialist has tipped Pakistan to be one of 2023’s top destinations, and is aiming to service "growing appetite for escorted travel to the area" with its new Mughals, Mystics and Mountains tour.

In 1983, Jules Verne became the first operator to escort western tourists across the Karakoram mountains from Pakistan to China via the Khunjerab pass.

Citing data from Statista, the operator said the rate of revenue growth from travel and tourism in Pakistan was expected to outstrip the worldwide annual growth rate this year, with package travel to the country set to be worth a projected US $1.3 billion in 2023.

"With Pakistan set to be one of the top travel destinations of 2023, we’ve worked with local tour guides to carefully curate the perfect tour of Pakistan," said Jules Verne general manager Debbie O’Neill.

O’Neill said the tour would get to the heart of the country’s culture through "genuine, authentic" experiences involving its people, local communities, landscapes and hotels.

The tour features a Lahore food tour, Qawali [singing] evening, Wagah border ceremony, truck paining and a polo match, and takes in several heritage properties.

The tour will also place a focus on efforts to bolster social equality for women through visits to the Khaplu Women’s Vocational Training Centre, a women-run carpet weaving centre, and a social enterprise run by women from Pakistan’s Hunza valley.

Guests will travel along the Karakoram highway, which is flanked by mountain landscapes, desert forts and tea stalls. Stops include Lahore, Islamabad, Pakistan’s Skardu region, the alpine lakes of Kachura and the Hunza valley.

Jules Verne is offering three 2023 departures from Heathrow with Virgin Atlantic – 2 June (from £4,895pp), 8 September (from £4,995pp) and 6 October (from £5,195pp).

The Der Touristik brand, a stablemate of Kuoni and Carrier, launched proactively to the trade for the first time in its 45-year history earlier this year.