‘Darshan’ for tourism

When we travel, we either discover America or succeed in finding ourselves. This is a lesson good enough for any country’s foreign policy, tourism policy and even economic policy.

A single visitor or a pilgrim during his journey to visit a religious site in Pakistan will go through a series of emotions and experiences including personal, cultural, and spiritual.

A country can capitalize on the same spirit. Consider a Sikh traveling to Pakistan from the US or any other first-world country. The way that person is greeted by the locals and experiences ease of travelling, eating and staying reflects your hospitality, your tolerance and your vision for the future.

That single pilgrim is Pakistan’s foreign policy ambassador; his/her lens would fight Islamophobia, promote peacekeeping, and highlight your contribution towards counterterrorism and your compliance of the Sustainable Development Goals. This is what we struggle to convey internationally, and this is what a single traveller’s job looks like.

Kartarpur is one such initiative. The Punjab tourism department is all set to establish a resort at Kartarpur. Likely to be called the TDCP Darshan Resort, the resort – as the name suggests – will give ‘darshan’ (a window view) of the holy site to the pilgrims staying there.

The Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur is at a distance of approximately 55km from the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The fourth Guru of Sikhs constructed a pool there and began the construction of Harmandir Sahib (the Golden Temple in Amritsar), which is considered the most sacred temple for Sikhs all over the world. During festivals, the footfall increases more than that of daily average footfall at the Taj Mahal.

Keeping in view the potential of religious and heritage tourism and opening hearts for people of different faiths, this 50-room resort could be a transition to Tourism 2.0 in Pakistan. Now that the tourism department has hit the right chords, the realization of this proposal will create the ripple effect.

Tourists’ expenses are not limited to transport and food; they actually impact the entire economy. This initiative will not only create jobs in the tourism sector but also lead to more indirect jobs. There are almost 200 gurdwaras in Punjab – including Gurdwara Janam Asthan at Nankana Sahib, Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur Narowal, Gurdwara Panja Sahib Hassanabdal, Gurdwara Sucha Soda Sheikhupura, Gurdwara Dera Sahib Lahore, and Gurdwara Rori Sahib Gujranwala, etc – and pilgrims visiting these sites will bring along economic contribution to each of these cities in the province.

According to a World Bank survey with the Sikh community residing in the US, the UK and Canada, 95 per cent of American Sikhs expressed their interest in visiting their holy sites in Pakistan. Similarly 78 per cent of British Sikhs and 77 per cent of Canadian Sikhs expressed the same interest.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Sikh population in these three countries alone constitute around one and a half million people. Any extra influx in the hospitality industry will report an upward trajectory for the suppliers and vendors of the related industries. It is safe to position this resort as the beginning of a new era of tourism in Punjab.

As Pakistan’s leap into the future with the SIFC is envisaged, tourism can very easily prove to be one of the biggest catalysts in this transition.

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has predicted almost full recovery to pre-pandemic tourism patterns by the end of 2023, and according to an article by McKinsey, tourism GDP is predicted to show substantial growth in the upcoming decade till 2032.

However, the post-pandemic labour shortage in the tourism sector will pose a threat. This could be another opportunity for countries like Pakistan to create jobs and tap the untapped economic potential of religious, heritage and recreational tourism in the country for both international and domestic tourists.

The writer is a freelance journalist. He has also served as media adviser to the World Bank and Unicef-funded healthcare and tourism-related projects in Punjab. He tweets/posts @EAAgop