Tourism potential

With the improvement in the security situation around the country, Pakistan has seen a massive increase in tourism in cultural sites across the country. Tourist traffic has been reported to have increased by over 317 percent. A single province, Punjab, is responsible for 95 percent of the increase in tourism. The improvement that has come over the last half a decade has been reported by Gallup Pakistan, which has tabulated tourist traffic at cultural sites across the country. The increase in tourism, considered a major priority for the current government, could be a boon to a struggling economy. What would be interesting to see is how the data for the current fiscal year compares with that of the years before, given that disposable incomes have suffered much. The numbers themselves are promising. The number of visits increased from 1.6 million in 2014 to 6.6 million visits in 2018. The increase signals that the public perception of the security situation has improved, while a growing economy of tourist service providers throughout the country have benefited from this increase.

There is little doubt that there is much more space for tourism to grow in Pakistan. The country remains home to key historical, cultural and religious sites around the world, which is not matched in terms of the tourist infrastructure. Many countries around the world have been able to create booming tourism economies with far less heritage and natural beauty. Even museums, which Pakistan is not known for, have witnessed a 50 percent increase in visitors. Both Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan have reported the same trend, which shows more people interested in exploring the past and our natural landscapes.

There is also good news: Pakistan has received two times as many foreign tourists. This is certainly an area which has space for huge growth. Taxila remains the cultural site most loved by foreign tourists, but it remains one of the most poorly looked after. Similarly, Mohenjodaro and Harappa do not have the adjoining tourist infrastructure to support cultural tourism at a bigger scale. There is little doubt that Pakistan has a lot of potential for domestic and international tourism. The latest report is positive. It is time for the government to undertake proper policymaking to turn Pakistan into a global tourist hub.