Foreign countries like the US, the UK, France, the UAE, Switzerland and so on earn billions of dollars every year from tourism. Moreover, they absorb the full benefits of the beauty, adventures and historical places their country constitutes.
It is a paradox that Pakistan is replete with many beautiful, adventurous, historical and religious spots, but still, it does not properly focus on tourism. If Pakistan pays a little attention to tourism, it can change its economy through its merits. In 2018, the “British Backpacks Society” ranked Pakistan as the world’s top adventurous travel destination; describing the country as one of the friendliest on earth with mountainous scenery, which is beyond anyone’s wildest imagination. No doubt, Pakistan is incredible in the case of beauty. It is blessed with wonderful history, religious, ethnic and natural diversity, which can attract tourists from all around the world.
Undoubtedly, Pakistan is matchless in natural beauty. There are numerous places situated in Pakistan, which can represent natural diversity, such as beautiful and green valleys like Himalayas and Karakoram valleys in Kashmir. Outstanding valleys located in Marri are blessed with nature. Beautiful lakes of pure and fresh water, including Saiful Muluk Lake located in Lahore, can be very productive in promoting tourism. Thus, such attractive spots can grab the attention of tourists.
Pakistan is not behind in any aspects of tourism. It also contains several historical places that can attract tourists interested in history. Additionally, places like Mohenjo Daro in Sindh; Mehrgad in Balochistan; Shahjahan Mosque near Thatta; Badshahi Mosque, Harappa and Shahi Khela can prove to be interesting for tourists who are close to history.
Pakistan is a realm with admirable adventurous places. Mount Godwin Austin (K-2) is the world’s second-largest mountain. There are Karakoram range, Himalaya range, the peak of Nanga Parbat and Nun Peak. Other points of high elevation can catch the attention of tourists from around the world that appreciate the adventure. Luckily, Pakistan also has multiple religious places like Nankana Sahib and Kartarpur. These religious sites could be of interest to those belonging to Hinduism and Sikhism. Apart from that, just recently, a 48-feet-long statue of sleeping Buddha was unearthed in Haripur. It is the world’s oldest sleeping Buddha statue. The statue can bring the Buddhist monks to Pakistan to visit their holy religious places. To compound more, Takht-i-Bahi in KPK and other sites in Punjab have the potential to attract a major proportion of the 50 million Buddhists from Korea, China and Japan.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has promoted religious tourism by his current visa policy for the Sikhs and Hindus so that they can travel to their holy places in Pakistan. The same month, at a meeting with Buddhist monks from Korea, PM Khan promoted interfaith harmony and took pride in Pakistan’s Buddhist heritage. Furthermore, Pakistan Tourism Development Cooperation (PTCD) Chairman, Zulfikar Bukhari said, “We will start by focusing Buddhist site in KPK and gradually move down to Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan where numerous ancient sites of various religions are located.”
Tourism is defined as a key to the door of success for Pakistan as it can boost up its economy
Tourism will lead to a very positive influence on the economy of Pakistan. According to the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017 released by World Economy Forum, the contribution of travel to Pakistan’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2013 was $298 million, constituting 2.8 per cent.
In 2015, the contribution was estimated at US $28.3 million and 2.8 per cent of the total GDP. In 2016, the contribution was near US $1.6 billion, including 2.7 per cent of GDP. The government prognosticates that tourism will contribute 1 trillion to Pakistan’s economy in 2025. Tourism is defined as a key to the door of success for Pakistan as it can boost up its economy.
Religious tourism will also play an immense role in the growth of GDP. Buddhist tourism provides over Rs 10 billion to GDP while the total contribution of Sikh tourists is projected at Rs 44 billion every year.
Tourism in Pakistan would not only develop its economy but also reduce unemployment. It has been estimated that Buddhist tourists can provide employment to 30,722 people. Similarly, Sikh tourists can generate 2000 jobs. Hence, tourism has the potential to finish poverty via jobs. Besides this, promoting religious tourism can, in fact, build good relation among Pakistan, India, Korea, China and Japan.
Despite having many tourable places, a significantly less number of tourists visit Pakistan in comparison to the other South Asian states. Haplessly, in 2013, 10 tourists were brutally killed at Nanga Parbat by terrorists. Such tragedies are still stuck in the hearts of the people, which stops them from visiting Pakistan. Additionally, poor security system, lack of marketing as well as facilities for the tourists are also some common causes.
To sum up, Pakistan now needs to establish a good security system for tourists and the country itself. Apart from its security system, it must work on ways to facilitate tourists, build more and more tourable places so as to develop tourism and ensure tourism is safe in Pakistan. Furthermore, if Pakistan strengthens the security system, facilitates tourists and rebuilds the trust of secure tourism in Pakistan, there will be a large number of tourists visiting Pakistan. This can, in turn, help eliminate unemployment and poverty as well as benefit Pakistan’s economy. As it has been quoted by Wayne Chirisa, “Great expeditions are fulfilling, the travel experience is inspired by a great facilitator.”
The writer is a social researcher, interested in archaeological sites in Balochistan