There is no escaping the fact that the world we are living in is subjected to drastic changes at a breath-taking pace. Acknowledging that wise nations are already well on their way in terms of adjusting themselves along with the flow to ensure reaping substantial shares in the economic cake. However, in a country like Pakistan where everything seems to be entirely out of order with Inflation, poverty, unemployment, and to top it all off economic crises, hauling the country towards an abyss, being up to par with the rest of the world is far more demanding than ever. For a country like Pakistan which is up to the neck in debt, tourism came as rescue teeming with hope for a crippled economy.
Pakistan undoubtedly has all it takes to get itself transformed into tourist heaven. Despite having such prospects for tourism unfortunately this potential is yet to be unveiled. In the few past decades tourism remained one of the completely undermined sectors, probably because of security concerns the country was going through post 9/11. However, after security agencies have successfully grappled with the evil of terrorism over the course of years it opens a new window for economic prosperity. It seems like efforts put in by the existing Government aimed at exhibiting extensive potential Pakistan has to the outside world, are finally reaping the rewards. As country untapped potential has been in limelight in many foreign magazines. i.e., Forbes classified Pakistan as one of the ‘10 Coolest Places to visit. Along with that Australian based company named “lonely planet” entitles “Pakistan tourism’s next big thing.” Also, the British Backpacker Society (BBS) declared Pakistan the world’s third-best potential adventure destination.
In the following write-up, I have highlighted some problems and their possible solution in order to fully capitalize on the country’s potential for tourism.
1)Major barricade that appears to impede the evolution of tourism in Pakistan is the lack of will by successive office bearers. In the past few tenures, there aren’t many worth mentioning efforts put in by the government to promote tourism in the country. This clearly depicts a lack of prioritization, which can be attributed to a lack of awareness, that how economically fruitful and evolved the tourism sector could be for our crippled economy. Having said that government needs to manifest crystal-clear policies that should project that it is in government’s top priority to manipulate untapped tourism potential to prevail over economic crises.
2) Another chief problem the tourism sector is confronted with is the lack of proper infrastructure. Undoubtedly that can be attributed to economic crises, as every other sector is facing even ramifications of nation-wide economic crises. Nevertheless, good infrastructure is indispensable to the flourished tourism industry. i.e., roads, hotels among others tourism services are of utmost importance as they are described as the backbone of the industry. Many tourist destinations remain unexplored as a result of poor services for tourists. This problem needs to be addressed at the earliest as part of nurturing the tourism industry by allocating generous if not lavish sums for this undermined sector.
2) Pakistan not only possesses extensive scope for natural tourism (the north of Pakistan is full of scenic beauty, Glaciers, and peaks) but also is blessed with so many cultural and religious sites that can put the country’s tourism industry in the limelight. for instance, ” Mohenjo Daro” in Sindh and Taxila along with numerous religious sights for Hindus, Buddhists, and Sikhs can draw the bulk of tourists from all over the world. Unfortunately, very little or no work has been done so far to explore the potential of religious tourism. The government needs to devise an easy and simplified visa application process for pilgrims who intends on visiting the country to fully capitalize on this potential. Policies such as E-visa and visa on arrival could prove really worthwhile in this regard. This would not only project a positive image of the country to the rest of world but also will encourage a great number of tourists which in turn would provide much-needed substructure for our tourism industry to flourish.
3) Another worth mentioning aspect is, even though the security situation has improved to a great extent and the threat of terrorism has been successfully been dealt with, however, international tourist is still somewhat reluctant or have some reservation, to say the least when it comes to choosing Pakistan as a travel destination. This is where our international diaspora along with the mainstream media should play a part by highlighting the positive picture of the country.
All in all, there is no escaping the fact that tourism is a million-dollar industry, and the icing on the cake is Pakistan has been blessed with the whole kit and caboodle to be among World’s best tourist destinations. Nevertheless, that demands a crystal-clear manifestation of policies by concerned authorities alongside with allocation of handsome budgets and supporting roles to be played by the media to promote the positive side of the country.
