Tourism in Pakistan: Challenges and Opportunities: CSS ESSAY

Tourism in Pakistan: Challenges and Opportunities

Tourism in Pakistan: Challenges and Opportunities

Outlines:

Introduction

Defining Tourism

Current Scenario of tourism in Pakistan

To what extent is it true that there are potential opportunities for tourism in Pakistan?

Yes, it is true because

• The environment of Pakistan is improving to a certain extent in terms of peace.
• Social media platforms are exploring several areas of Pakistan and encouraging people to travel around the country.
• CPEC will open new avenues of tourism in Pakistan.

Challenges to Tourism in Pakistan

• Obsolete Infrastructure
• Terrorism
• Negligence of Government
• Lack of human resource development
• Inadequate services
• Impacts of the underdeveloped tourism sector of Pakistan

Social Impacts

• Exploitation of tourists
• The negative image of societal values

Economic Impacts

• Poor revenue generation
• Low employment opportunities

Psychological Impacts

• Bad international reputation
• Political Impacts
• Weak diplomatic ties

Steps already taken

Recommendations

• Develop modern infrastructure
• Improve security conditions
• Provide adequate facilities
• Formulate and implement tourism policies

Conclusion

The tourism sector is regarded as a financial hub in the modern age. At the global level, Turkey is one of the excellent tourist destinations on account of its mesmerizing natural scenery and cultural and historical sites. At the regional level, Maldives is a famous tourist spot due to its underwater tourism setup. At the national level, the hospitable nature of people, numerous historical buildings and captivating landscapes of Pakistan attract foreigners to visit it. Tourism in Pakistan contributes to its economic growth. Tourists are still confronting some issues owing to the need for more human resource development. However, a balanced approach consisting of skilled human labor with appropriate information technology is the panacea of all the existential problems. 

Tourism is a source of recreation as well as economic growth. Tourism is a familiar concept and is as old as human civilization. It attracts people and provides them with cultural and historical knowledge about countries besides enjoyment. Tourism is not confined to developed countries; Developing countries are also proactively contributing to enhancing the tourism ratio. Thus, several measures would be required to tackle the tourism challenges.

The current situation of tourism in Pakistan could be better. First, the Pakistani passport ranked 106 among the global passports, the fourth lowest, according to the Guide Passport Ranking Index. Second, the Murree tragedy was observed at the beginning of 2022 due to deplorable tourism management. Moreover, recent torrential rains and floods have deteriorated the situation. Thus, stringent policies would be effective in countering these challenges.

Despite several problems, Pakistan has intense potential for tourism opportunities, and tourism could be one of the prominent economic ventures of the country. Primarily, Pakistan is working immensely to bring a safe and sound tourism environment. In 2020, Eva Zu Beck, a British female Youtube travel vlogger, traveled alone across the northern areas of Pakistan and shared her experience of the peaceful journey. Moreover, she also praised the hospitable nature of Pakistanis. Secondly, an improved, secure environment opens new trade and foreign direct investment doors. For instance, the PTI government opened the Kartarpur corridor for Sikh pilgrims to visit their sacred place for just 20 US dollars without visa permission. This action signaled to initiation of bilateral trade between India and Pakistan Punjab.

Furthermore, its efforts in Pakistan are being recognized globally. British Airways has also been resumed in Pakistan recently after decades. Therefore, it is not wrong to say Pakistan is working on its tourism sector by making the environment peaceful.

Social media also plays a constructive role in exploring several tourist spots in Pakistan. Now, everybody can access multiple travel agents and their offered social amenities with just one click. Several vloggers, bloggers and social media pages assist people in this regard. First, Incredible Pakistan, a famous Instagram page, gives information about several places in Pakistan and motivates people to travel across the country. Moreover, the positive role of social media is exciting people to open their tourism agencies, and now many Facebook pages are available for tourism. Pak Tourism Club is top ranking local tourism agency in Pakistan. Hence, numerous people engage in Pakistan's tourism through social media platforms.

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is going to improve the connectivity infrastructure of Pakistan, and it will add a quick boost to the tourism industry. Under this infrastructure project of CPEC, the remote areas of Pakistan will be brought into the mainstream. According to Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation, 300000 people are currently associated with the tourism industry. Through CPEC, there will be 500000 people in the particular sector, which indicates the boom in Pakistan's economy. Pakistan is home to the world's tallest mountains, including K2, with more than fifty peaks, so there are chances that when CPEC operates, mountaineers from all over the world will surge in Pakistan. Thus, CPEC, through its improved connectivity, is paving the way for multiple tourism opportunities in Pakistan.

There are several challenges to the growth of the tourism industry in Pakistan. Obsolete infrastructure is the biggest obstacle hampering the success of the tourism sector. Underdeveloped roads, mediocre transportation systems and fewer railway tracks and airports highlight this issue. The road leading to the Khewra salt mine is the true depiction of this fact. First, improper planning and poor management are the core reasons for the backward infrastructure in the country. Thus, obsolete infrastructure in Pakistan is declining the tourism ratio.

Although Pakistan struggles to improve its environment, some security threats still tarnish its image. Terrorism impedes the tourism industry. For example, target killing in Karachi is usual. Extremism is another factor that fuels the problem. The Murder of Priyantha Kumara by a violent mob in Sialkot in 2021 is the biggest example.

Moreover, the killing of foreign tourists at the Nanga Parbat boot camp also portrayed a negative image of Pakistan. Therefore, a fearful environment halts people from visiting the Pakistan government's lack of will and undemocratic attitude fosters the issue. Every Government focuses on new tourism initiatives rather than improving the old ones. First, Government allocates a low budget to the tourism sector. Second, the parliamentary debate about tourism is negligible. Thus, the non-serious behavior of the Government is posing a colossal challenge to the tourism industry.

Lack of human resource development also inhibits the tourism sector's expansion. The rationale behind this problem is the need for more trained and skilled tourism personnel. No proper tourism training centers could teach skills, like giving information and guiding about weather prediction, allowing a suitable number of people within a tourism area and managing emergencies etc., to individual staff. In addition, delay in the timings of flights and trains is also suppressing the tourism potential of Pakistan. Thus, the need for more human resource development is putting off the success of the tourism industry.

Tourists often complain about inadequate necessities. Poor internet services, inflation, unavailability of pure water, electricity and inadequate hotel facilities are the main reasons for the downfall of the tourism industry. As per Pakistan 2021 annual report of tourism, only 9% of South Asian tourists visit Pakistan. Mafia groups are responsible for this issue indirectly. Thus, tourism advancement with adequate services is possible.

Various social repercussions occur due to these challenges to the tourism sector. First, owing to terrorism and an insecure environment, various gangster groups, kidnap tourists, especially foreign tourists and exploit them by demanding money. These cases usually happen in Sindh and Baluchistan. Additionally, it creates a negative image of the societal values of Pakistan globally, and people do not consider the country the best option for recreation. Hence, these social consequences defy the progress of the tourism industry of Pakistan, specifically on a global scale.

Challenges to tourism in Pakistan also cause economic impacts. Primary, there needs to be better revenue generation, insufficient for the rise of the tourism sector. Secondly, there are low employment opportunities that thwart the expansion of the tourism industry. Thus, tourism in Pakistan is also declining due to these economic impacts.

From a psychological point of view, tourism has impacts on the psychology of people, too. Underdeveloped infrastructure and extremism are eroding the international reputation of Pakistan. Foreigners perceive Pakistan as a dangerous country due to negative news on social media. Therefore, strengthening the international reputation would only be possible through effective and practical strategies.

As far as political impact is concerned, the debilitated tourism sector of Pakistan decreases diplomatic relations. Resultantly, it disrupts Pakistan's economy and its foreign policy. It also hinders foreign direct investments. Thus, the tourism sector also has a huge impact on the political front of Pakistan.

Challenges to tourism in Pakistan are not a novel concept, and the Government is mending ways to overcome the issue. Various steps have already been taken in this regard. For instance, the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) in 1970 and the appointment of tourism police in Murree in 2022. These strategies show that Pakistan has recognized the importance of tourism, and the Government is interested in fixing the issue. To sum up, the tourism sector has become the prime concern of the state.

In order to solve these problems, several remedial measures would be feasible to promote tourism in Pakistan. One of them having supreme importance is the development of infrastructure. The existing infrastructure in Pakistan is different from international standards. First, Government should allocate enough budget for the construction of roads, railway systems and airports. Second, the transportation system must be upgraded. In short, a modern infrastructure is a viable option.  

Another important remedial measure for promoting tourism in Pakistan is a secure environment for tourists. Primary, Government, should counter terrorism efficiently. The secondary state should launch intelligence-led operations against extremists who disturb the country's peace. To conclude, strict action against terrorists is the need of the hour.

The provision of adequate services is also important for the tourism sector. First, the public-private partnership is necessary for catering basic needs of tourists, like fast internet services, pure water and electricity etc. Similarly, there should be appropriate pricing for hotels and other facilities. In a nutshell, the timely provision of high-quality and adequate services would be beneficial for the expansion of the tourism industry of Pakistan.

The formulation and implementation of appropriate tourism policies are crucial. Good tourism policies and implementation should be the priority of the Government of Pakistan to attract more tourists. The public must coordinate with the state; thus, suitable tourism policies are essential for boosting the tourism industry.

To sum up, it has been stated so far that it is not wrong to say Pakistan is taking small steps to promote the tourism sector, but still, the process is in the evolutionary phase. The major rationale behind this debilitating issue is underdeveloped infrastructure. There is less than 1% revenue generation due to this antiquated infrastructure. However, developing modern infrastructure would be feasible to counter several tourism problems. Despite several challenges, Pakistan is making progress by leaps and bounds.