Tourism in Pakistan: Opportunities & Contribution to Economy
In this world, from all sources of knowledge. the most useful source is travel. It is said that if you want to know someone deeply, you should travel with that person. Similarly, you don’t just get to know about the person but also about different societies and regions. Although this topic aims at tourism in Pakistan generally, tourism is one of the biggest industries in this world. It contributes more than 8 trillion to the world’s economy. More than 320 million people are associated with tourism in one way or another. It is the cause of unexpected economic production. Furthermore, it gives opportunities for revenue and employment.
Hidden possible benefits in tourism can be obtained only when all obstacles would be overcome. For instance, easy term sin visa policies, projects of training for increasing opportunities in tourism, and structuring digital infrastructure. In this article, we will discuss tourism in Pakistan and its opportunities as well as challenges.
Importance of Tourism in Pakistan
The importance of tourism in Pakistan can be gauged by the fact that the New York Times mentioned Lahore in the list of the best tourist points in the world. It mentioned inner Lahore as beautiful. in just a few years, the tourism industry of Pakistan is evolving as the best industry. According to the official facts and figures, the revenue obtained from the tourism industry in 2016 was almost 79.1 million dollars which increases in 2017 and reached 86.6 million dollars. In recent years, the revenue of the tourism industry has reached one billion dollars.
Most tourism in Pakistan takes place in northern areas which include Gilgit Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Apart from these areas, religious visitors also come to Pakistan to visit different sacred places. The most sacred places of Sikhs are located in Pakistan such as Nankana Sahib, Sacha Sauda Gurdwara, Kartarpur Narowal, and Gurdwara Panja Sahib Hasan Abdal. For Buddhism, the most sacred places are also in Pakistan in which Takht–i-Bahi and Taxila are the important places.
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More than 70% economy of the Gilgit Baltistan region consists of tourism. According to an estimation, the average expenditure of a Pakistani tourist is 20,000–25,000 PKR in Gilgit Baltistan, and of a foreigner is more than 50,000 PKR. Recently, the number of hotels and guests housed has reached 14,000 but by 2014, it was not more than 500 in number.
WTD & Tourism in Pakistan
Every year World Tourism Day (WTD) is celebrated on 27 September worldwide. The main objective of celebrating this day is to make beautiful the world day by day so that the connection between people should be stronger and stronger and they can benefit from the development and knowledge. There is another purpose of the UN celebrating this day is that tourism can get its legitimate position and the governments of the whole world pay heed to this industry.
If we talk about Pakistan’s tourist places then Allah has blessed Pakistan with the most captivating and mesmerizing regions which have no second in the world. The big mountains, glaciers, rivers, waterfalls, deserts, valleys, sea, and lush green fields are some of those mesmerizing beauties which are located in beautiful Pakistan. These beauties discriminate Pakistan from other countries in this region and are the manifestations of Allah’s gifts. Moreover, last but not least Kashmir is the epitome of Heaven on this planet.
Region-wise Tourist Places
1. Balochistan
Probably, Balochistan is the only region in this world where many kinds of weather simultaneously captivate many tourists. For instance, Some miles distant from a hot place like Sibi, Ziarat is located which has beautiful which is proof of Allah’s beautiful gifts. In this area, ancient forests of Cypress trees are found which are considered second in the world’s ancient trees. Most of them are more than 5500 years old.
In Balochistan, beautiful waterfalls are also found. Due to Gwadar, Balochistan has got a more prominent position from a tourism point of view. The beaches of Balochistan also represent the beauty of this area.
2. Sindh
In this province, the best tourist place is nearby areas of the Arabian sea. This sea attracts the attention of thousands of visitors in the region. Mohenjodaro, a part of the most ancient civilization, the Indus Civilization, is also found here. Other places like Ranikot Fort in Jamshoro district, Shah Jahan Masjid Thatta, Lloyd barrage museum, Chaukandi Graveyard, and Gorakh Hill are also some of the places which attract tourists’ attention to themselves.
Furthermore, places like the Thar desert look beautiful after pleasant weather and rain. Here, beautiful peacocks dance which makes this more beautiful.
3. Punjab
The greenness of Punjab is due to its five rivers which provide freshness to the soul and body of its people. It has the world’s second-largest salt mine in the world, Khewra Salt Mine. Pothohar Plateau gives a fascinating sight with its red soil and hills. Many sacred places of different religions are also in Punjab province. Moreover, Lahore, a beautiful city, is home to many historical places like Shai Fort, Badshahi Mosque, Katas Raj Temples, etc.
Multan, the city of saints, is also in the Punjab province. It is home to the tombs of many renowned saints of history. Besides, Faisalabad also called Manchester of Pakistan is also located in Punjab where people find hundreds of textile mills and many tourist places.
4. Gilgit Baltistan
The beauty of Gilgit Baltistan is not hidden from anyone. Hunza, a village in Gilgit Baltistan, is the second number in the world from a healthy component point of view. It is famous that here people flourish from the stones even and its sights spread different colors. Gilgit Baltistan has a town called Jaglot where the world’s three biggest mountain ranges Karakoram, Himalaya, and Hindukush meet at one point. It is the only place in the world these three mountain ranges seem like hugging each other.
Karakoram Highway, also called the 8th wonder of the world, passes from different areas of Pakistan. And, it goes through Khunjerab towards China by familiarizing with the civilization and culture of different areas. 30 out of the top 100 highest peaks in the world are located in Pakistan.
Moreover, Plateau Deosai, the biggest plateau between Skardu and Astore in Gilgit Baltistan is also found in Pakistan which has its position in terms of weather and captivity. The second longest glaciers are also found in Pakistan and have been named “Water Tower“.
In short, Pakistan has been blessed with the most beautiful places ever but it is said that no one could get the benefit that should have been gotten from such beauty.
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Way Forward
Although the current government is aware of Pakistan’s natural beauty and the importance of the tourism industry, they are not focusing on taking practical steps to evolve it. In addition to this, the beautiful sights of Pakistan, its historical background, and its cultural heritage need to get covered in rich style. The Pakistani government should manage safe roads and the best roads to reach these heavenly places. They should make a hoteling system according to the latest international standards and publish a tourism guide for every place.
It would be unfortunate for Pakistan if its tourism industry couldn’t get benefit from opportunities for tourism. Therefore, the government should come forward from its empty declarations and promises and take practical steps. It should be done as soon as possible so that they shouldn’t mortgage their self-respect in return for a few dollars merely.
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