Challenges to the tourism industry of Pakistan
THERE is no denial of the fact that tourism carries a huge potential and advantages for Pakistan.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan rightly said that tourism will change the fate of Pakistan, as it carries huge potential and it will boost the economy and will offer employment opportunities.
He quoted the example of Switzerland, Which is half of our northern area, but still generates revenue of 80 billion U.S. dollars. Where is Pakistan which is more natural? Beautiful areas generate Less than it.
There are many opportunities available in Pakistan which can boost the tourism in Pakistan but at the same time there are many challenges which cause hindrances in promotion of the tourism industry.
These challenges include inadequate infrastructure, poor security situation, lack of government’s will, efficient policies, and at the same time, inefficient hotels and restaurants.
Lack of adequate infrastructure is one of the biggest hindrances in the way of promoting tourism. Adequate infrastructure include road network, train tracks, airports, supply of gas and electricity, availability of network and some other amenities.
Without these, it is nearly impossible to promote the tourism industry. Same in the case of Pakistan where several tourist destinations don’t have adequate infrastructure. Our tourism industry is not evolving.
Access to these amenities in the hilly areas is very dangerous but not impossible because of land sliding and inadequate infrastructure. The poor security system in the last decades of Pakistan has discouraged tourism as many foreign tourists were killed in terrorist attacks.
One of the famous incidents was at the boot camp of Nanga Parbat, where foreign tourists Were killed, this was the particular.
Terrorist activity, but in general terrorism activities, Many tourists have Lost their life. These terrorist activities have brought a bad name to Pakistan and it is held responsible for the downfall of the tourism industry in Pakistan.
Another factor in the downfall of tourism in Pakistan is the lake of Will of the government. No government had made any effective efforts for the promotion of tourism.
Government has always ignored the tourism industry. This is the reason as a low budget is allocated to the tourism industry in every fiscal year.
There are so many efforts which should have been taken by the government, which include adequate infrastructure, tourist friendly visas, and policies. Providing better security to tourists, Promotion of northern areas in the media.
Another hindrance in the way of promoting the tourism industry is the limited number of hotels and restaurants in the tourist destinations.
Likewise in northern areas there are many beautiful places which are the best option for tourism. But due to limited hotel and accommodations facilities of international level over there Tourist are hesitating to visit those spots.
If the government wants to attract tourists to these spots then the government must provide these facilities at an international level, otherwise it will remain a hurdle in the way of promotion of the tourism industry.
Roads which lead to the tourist spots must be built. Railway tracks must be built where necessary. Governments focus must be on the comfortable and safe access of tourist spots for foreign tourists. Moreover, the standard of hotels and restaurants must be uplifted.
Number of hotels must be increased. Another step which should be taken by the government is that the Government must formulate such policies in order to promote tourism which should protect the rights of tourists.
Tourists are being harassed and are being cheated. This thing portraits a bad image of Pakistan. And strict action must be taken by the government institutions, including police in case of infringement of the rights of tourists.
Improving security situations must be the priority of the government. For over decades Terrorism played havoc with all the sectors of economy which include tourism which was most affected.
Now security situations have improved and terrorism has been eradicated to a large extent.
However, the government still needs to be vigilant and conduct intelligence led operations to prevent any such untoward incident That not only discourages tourism, but also portrays the bad image of a country. Awareness regarding the tourist destinations in Pakistan must be launched in the media. It will help to uplift the tourism industry.
So it can be stated that promoting tourism is in the interest of Pakistan, although there are certain hurdles in the way, but these can be overcome by effective measures.
It is hoped that if these measures are taken and implemented by the government, the true potential of tourism can be seen which will bring about a revolution in improving the economy and creating business and employment opportunities in Pakistan.
—The writer is an advocate, based in Karachi.
