Pakistan’s tourism industry has a great potential for growth in the coming years, with many new infrastructures, attractions, policies and incentives being formulated and implemented. We believe the tourism industry would continue to flourish as one of the nation’s vital supporting economic pillars.
We have to be cognizant of the fact that challenges in the global travel and tourism industry would continue to increase. We foresee a greater competition for the global tourism dollar, in addition to the threat of natural disasters, volatile economic trends as well as changing travel patterns and preferences, which could affect this industry.
Though vulnerable, the tourism industry is also resilient and has always managed to bounce back.
Therefore, to achieve our goal and ensure the industry continues to prosper, we need to forge ahead with greater resolve and introduce bold measures. To achieve our goal of tourism development, especially for Buddhist pilgrimage in Pakistan, cooperation between industry players ranging from the public and private sectors is crucial as we focus on promotional programs to steer our tourism sector in the right direction.
The following plan of action is recommended to achieve the desired objectives:
Tourism Promotion Board:
Establish a board under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture to focus on the specific task of promoting religious tourism in Pakistan and overseas. We need to set up a target for the next three years to focus on promotional programs that would build momentum and take advantage of the CPEC, bringing an influx of visitors from China and other countries.
The members onboard should include Ministry of Tourism, PTCD, Department of Conservation (Heritage and Culture), Hazara University and Tours and Travel Association of Pakistan
The annual targets might be set in accordance with the number of religious visitors to attract, with an increased percentage of visitors compared to the previous year, if the specific data is available.
The board should periodically meet every six months to discuss and prepare the implementation plans, future strategies in the view of progress, new initiatives and innovative ideas. A proper mechanism needs to be developed by the Ministry of Tourism with designated staff to maintain data and Management Information System (MIS) on religious tourists (religion, visitor’s origin, individual or group visit, their feedback for further improvement). The facts and figures would fairly present the actual progress and outcomes of the taken measures and efforts. They would also help plan ahead to meet the target or bridge any gaps.
The research on the soft component of heritage can create an extraordinary contribution to tourism development
The role of different departments in the board may be defined as follows:
The Ministry of Tourism should maintain the coordination and facilitate the government policies in the promotion of tourism including e-visa, visa on arrival, visa extension facility and other promotional plans like free or discounted entry tickets and security. PTDC has an active role in the proper accommodation of the visitor. It could facilitate priority booking or offer discounted rates for pilgrims, availability of dedicated rooms and guides.
Being the only faculty of its kind in Pakistan, Department of Conservation, Hazara University, is a research resource for the Buddhism culture, heritage, archaeology and the history of the religion and the region. The department is working on the conservation of heritage and supervising/facilitating many MS/MPhil/PhD scholars on their research. The department can facilitate the tourism promotion campaigns, workshops and events and enrol foreign students for graduate/MPhil/PhD research studies; attracting students interested in studying and researching on Buddhism. The varsity could target the top 10 major Buddhist population countries, including China that has easier access now through the CPEC.
Tours and Travel Association of Pakistan flourishes through the facilitation in travelling, accommodation arrangements, guided tours and site seeing plans. The tour operators and travel agents are directly related to the marketing part. They are a major stakeholder and can play an important role in promoting tourism in the country. They can prepare package tours of multiple choices according to the visitor’s interest.
Propagation of Buddhist Historical Remains in Pakistan is important to reach out to international tourists in their countries through tourist guides, campaign, social media, internet, events, TV shows, advertisements, promotions, preparation of documentaries, brochures, blogs and official accounts on social media.
Special Events Board: Targeting the top 10 Buddhist population countries, the foreign missions of Pakistan should arrange special events and seminars on Buddhist pilgrimage and tourism in Pakistan and invite press, media travel and tour operators.
Special religious festival events should be planned. Presentation on heritage, history and details of important places and sites could be facilitated by the Department of Conservation. Brochures and special promotional tour packages should be prepared.
As a marketing strategy, participation in major international trade shows should be considered important, with a focus on leverage on accessibility and connectivity, as well as placing a higher emphasis on digital marketing and optimising the use of the latest information technology.
Special Events in Pakistan: There should be two events every year (Spring and Autumn) that exhibit Buddhist art, costume, food, myths, rituals, ceremonies and games. We can expect many visitors from China as it has the largest Buddhist population of about 244 million, as well as easy road access due to CPEC and a cheaper option.
The customs, culture and traditions of the people of the area still have an impact of Buddhist civilisation on their faith, language and environment. The main festivals or traditional ceremonies are celebrated, and the customs are embedded with these festivals.
The traditional marriage festival has a tourism potential yet to be fully recognised by the people. It is to be made known to the outside world to tempt tourist influx, particularly in northern areas, where people still follow the old traditions and perform traditional wedding ceremonies. Some of the native wedding rites could also serve as tourist heritage.
People enjoying playing several indigenous games (Buddhist Games) in Pakistan. These games are equally interesting to visitors. A large number of spectators would attend these games. It is also believed that sports tourism shall restructure the rural and urban communities from social and economic perspectives. Sports tourism shall improve the life quality, through tourist attraction and result in the economic welfare of the local communities.
Our crafts are dominated by Buddhist art influence and this sector has a direct relationship with developing tourism. Especially in the villages, handicrafts are considered a means to earn livelihoods. In these crafts, we can include wood carvings, shawls, jewellery and other artworks.
Promotion of Education/Research Facilities on Buddhism: The rich heritage, historical remains and Buddhist remains in Pakistan provide a great opportunity to the students for practical involvement in the ongoing exploration, excavation and conservation research studies. Conservation Department, Hazara University, can provide this opportunity to foreign students for MS/MPhil and PhD.
Proper advocacy, propagation and information dissemination abroad through the Pakistani Foreign Missions would attract students. If the government announces scholarships, the students that apply will bring multifold revenue in the form of expenditure on amenities like accommodation, living costs and travel. These students would be cultural exchange representatives to attract from travellers, visitors and students their communities in addition to building a positive image about the hospitality, culture, secure environment and the beautiful landscape of Pakistan.
Tourist Information/Guidance: Visitors from abroad need to be facilitated and provided with guidance on specific places of interest, the area and access. Tourist information centres need to be established and ensured to be functional with knowledgeable staff.
Security: As we know that the security situation and terrorism are major concerns and constraints for the tourism industry. The negative image portrayed by media in this regard also harms the efforts to promote tourism. The measures taken by the government and the calm and the peace in the area need to be promoted through the media and different channels to spread the message across. Moreover, security and stability in these areas are also important to earn the confidence and trust of tourists.
Apart from this, Pakistan needs to ease its visa restrictions, especially concerning stay extensions. The logistics around travel and accommodation are sufficient but they could be improved through dedicated services for the tourists and pilgrims, like separate services for foreigners at airports.
The writer is a PhD in Conservation Studies from Hazara University, Mansehra, and holds the only doctorate in Conservation Studies across Pakistan. His research is remarkably valued by the research evaluators and also accepted for publication by Lok Virsa, Islamabad