Lahore touted as ECO Tourism Capital 2026-27

Punjab’s information and culture department used a social-media post on May 18 to turn a regional tourism designation into a broader international pitch for Lahore. The post, published by the official @infoculturedept account on X, said Lahore had been presented at the World Urban Forum in Baku as the ECO Tourism Capital for 2026-27 and described the city as a “walking museum” for international visitors. The post included a short promotional video showing city landmarks and officials, according to the card material provided for this story. The forum itself is taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from May 17 to May 22, 2026, under UN-Habitat’s World Urban Forum program. ### Was Lahore newly chosen in Baku, or was Baku used as a showcase? ECO’s own published record points to an earlier formal designation. The Economic Cooperation Organization said after its 6th Ministerial Meeting on Tourism in Erzurum on April 26, 2025, that ministers approved Lahore as the ECO Tourism Capital for 2027, alongside Mary for 2028 and Karakol for 2029. (wuf.unhabitat.org) A separate ECO newsletter and tourism pages repeat that timeline. Those materials say Erzurum held the 2025 title, Shusha was designated for 2026, and Lahore was designated for 2027. That means the Baku appearance appears to have been a promotional presentation of Lahore’s status rather than the original selection event. ### Why does the “2026-27” phrasing matter? (eco.int) The “2026-27” wording in the Punjab-linked social post does not match the clearest ECO documentation now available online. ECO materials accessible through its website identify Lahore for 2027, while Shusha, Azerbaijan, is described by the organization as the ECO Tourism Capital for 2026. Dawn, reporting on Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s appearance in Baku on May 19, also said she told the summit that Lahore had been declared ECO Tourism Capital for 2026-27. (eco.int) But the shorter item did not, in the excerpt available through search, explain the discrepancy with ECO’s earlier ministerial decision. ### What do officials say Lahore is trying to sell? Maryam Nawaz and Punjab officials have been using heritage language for months in the campaign around Lahore’s nomination and follow-up promotion. (eco.int) In April 2025, the Punjab government said Maryam told an ECO delegation that “Lahore is not just a city but a museum of living history,” while describing its monuments, gardens and hospitality as assets for visitors. (dawn.com) Punjab’s government has also tied that message to a larger tourism push. In February and March 2025, official statements said the province was preparing a “Magnificent Punjab” project, planning work on 170 tourist sites and trails, and moving a Tourism and Heritage Authority proposal, with Lahore, Taxila, Changa Manga and other destinations included in the wider strategy. (dgpr.punjab.gov.pk) ### What is the World Urban Forum where Lahore was promoted? UN-Habitat says World Urban Forum 13 opened in Baku on May 17 and runs through May 22. The forum’s theme is “Housing the world: Safe and resilient cities and communities,” and organizers say it brings together governments, mayors, experts, civil society and international organizations. That setting helps explain why Punjab officials used the gathering to pair tourism branding with urban-development messaging. (punjab.gov.pk) Dawn said Maryam told the Baku summit that Punjab had launched an urban development program worth more than $2 billion while also citing Lahore’s ECO tourism designation. ### What comes next for the designation? WUF13 continues in Baku through May 22, according to UN-Habitat and the official forum site. (wuf.unhabitat.org) ECO’s published sequence of tourism capitals lists Shusha for 2026 and Lahore for 2027, so the next concrete marker will be how ECO and Punjab authorities describe Lahore’s role in official materials tied to the 2027 program year. (dawn.com)