Daily Times

Tourism can be a multibillion-dollar industry in Pakistan if there is growing awareness and a policy benefiting the stakeholders to build the tourism culture.

Dr. Abedullah, Chief of Research at the Pakistan Institute of Development Economic (PIDE), said, “During the last two years, the federal and provincial governments have taken numerous initiatives to upgrade the tourism services by building infrastructure. Pakistan does have a lot of potential for the tourism industry; however, its share in the GDP is almost 7.2% which is quite low.”

“The authorities concerned should lease some tourist points to the private sector for a long term which will enable the investor to easily arrange a handsome investment with a tentative payback period,” Abedullah remarked.

He further said, “The Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) has a variety of initiatives planned for the growth of tourism industry, and numerous projects are in the works to promote tourism-related products both domestically and internationally.”

“A five-year action plan and a national tourist strategy have been developed to promote growth in the tourism industry for the period 2020-30. A tourism E-Portal is being developed to offer one-window access to the information and services connected to travel,” he added.

“To bring the Pakistani tourism products up to the global best practices, national minimum standards have been set. For the purpose of highlighting all national events, festivals, and activities, an events calendar has been created,” he explained.

“The PTDC has also developed a tourism brand for Pakistan that includes advertising and promotional materials as well as religious tourism and will be launched in October 2022,” Abedullah added.

“After the launch of Brand Pakistan, all stakeholders, including the Pakistani Missions abroad, will have access to the brand’s publicity materials, including the National Tourism Strategy,” he said.

“The fundamental views of this approach are to strengthen the tourist institutions, create public-private partnerships, and maximize the tourism value chain,” said the PTDC official.

“The main goals of this strategy are to promote simple investments in tourism infrastructure and to broaden formulas to maximize tourism’s multiplier effect on the local economy. All tourist stakeholders are involved to boost this industry.”

Pakistan has moved up six positions in the international travel and tourism development index. The PTDC is now placed 83rd out of 117 countries, but the WEF report demonstrates that things are in fact moving in the right direction.

The World Travel & Tourism Council report 2021 states that in 2019, tourism and travel generated $15 billion, or nearly 5.7% of Pakistan’s overall GDP. However, as a result of Covid-19, this growth significantly declined in 2020, dropping by around 25% to $11.6 billion, or 4.4% of GDP.

Out of 141 countries, Pakistan ranks 130th in terms of an enabling environment, 102nd in terms of health and hygiene, 123rd in terms of travel and tourism policy and enabling conditions, 120th in terms of the government’s priority of travel and tourism, 107th in terms of tourism infrastructure, and 141st in terms of environmental sustainability.