THE government of Pakistan took a laudable initiative last month (July 10-13, 2023) by organizing an International Gandhara Symposium in Islamabad. The event brought together monks and religious leaders from myriad countries including Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam as well as international and national experts. By all accounts, the event was one of the best-organized and attended among the scores of similar events that have taken place in Pakistan. At the end of this big event and the tall claims made, the question is “What will be the follow-up? What is the way forward?”
A partnership of Pakistan government and private actors has been involved in promoting Pakistan and its heritage over the past decade. It is in major part due to their efforts that monks have already been coming to Pakistan and taking a positive message on Gandhara and Pakistan to the world. Since they have been the precursors to this event, it is imperative to see where they stand on the “way forward.”
It is to be noted that consultations have been ongoing for the past year with key players – domestic and international – and as a result, last month a blue-print was presented to the government to create a Gandhara-based tourism Mega-Sector. This sector can be worth $20 billion in current day value, bring 5 million tourists to Pakistan by the end of 10 years, create one million hospitality industry jobs and bring billions in investment. Most importantly, it would change world’s perceptions of Pakistan and put Pakistan on the world map in the most positive light.It is a tall order, but very doable. The only caveat is that to create the largest business sector for Pakistan, the process has to be slow, thoughtful, deliberate and methodical.
To create this mega sector, there are ten links to the value chain that need to be forged. The first five links are: Streamlining the visa regime (let us be welcoming); streamlining the travel NOC regime for diplomats and tourists (let us open up Pakistan); engaging the Buddhist monks and leaders to lead (they know what is sacred and important and can guide us); marketing Pakistan and its heritage (change perceptions); and, organizing tour operators (find honorable operators and link them internationally).
The second set of five links are: sensitizing and educating the local population (show them economic opportunity and sensitizing them that Buddhism is no threat to our glorious religion); organizing sites and infrastructure (let Buddhist leaders guide us on their needs); coordinating financing and investment (local and international private sectors are ready to invest); coordinating international donors (they have resources but we need to map the resources); and finally, to realize this dream, we need to set up a coordination entity to create this mega sector for Pakistan.
The last one is critically important since there are more than 20 relevant ministries and departments at the federal and provincial level which will have a role in creating this Mega-Sector, namely, Ministries of Interior, Foreign Affairs, Religious Affairs, security agencies, customs, FIA, CAA, Departments of Heritage, Tourism, Archeology and so on. Putting the links together is not hard for people who have been involved in sectoral development as some of us have had the opportunity to do. However, as they say, the devil is always in the details. Let us delve into some details on each of the above-mentioned.
On streamlining the visa regime, it is perhaps the easiest one to accomplish but hardest at times to convince! For one, “Buddhism” needs to be added as a category on the online visa app. Concurrently, let us be gracious, forget about reciprocal visa regimes and grant one year (for the first time applicant), and two years (repeat applicant). Besides, let us grant multiple entry visas.
Countries like Thailand and the UAE which have succeeded in creating tourists mega-sectors do not worry about reciprocity. They welcome tourists rather than getting into a tit-for-tat on visas with other countries. For example, the US and the Europe require visas from citizens of Thailand, but Thailand gives visa on arrival. Hence Thailand has an inflow of 40 million tourists generating $80 billion in revenue. Furthermore, we need to get out of the insecurity mindset that somehow people will come to Pakistan to do damage. We are the 5th largest country in the world, with one of the most competent security apparatus and we should feel secure that we can handle the few culprits that sneak in. Let us not keep millions out for the handful of bad apples.
On No Objection Certificate (NOC) regime, our government requires NOCs from diplomats and foreigners travelling to many places in Pakistan, particularly the northern areas, Swat, etc. Ostensibly, the NOC is required to be aware of their movements and to ensure security. In practice though, it is simply a barrier to movement and discourages people from travelling. Worse, it creates a perception of insecurity and being unwelcomed.
Many ambassadors have confided that they cannot allow their nationals to come to Pakistan if they themselves cannot roam around freely. After all, they are responsible for the well-being of their people in Pakistan and should a mishap happen to a busload of tourists from a country, their Ambassador needs to be at the site of the mishap within minutes, not waiting for NOC to come through. We should have confidence in our security agencies to ensure safety of travellers and streamline/eliminate the NOC regime. In the next two articles, the details of the eight remaining links of the mega sector will be presented in detail. Suffice to say, Pakistan can create a vibrant and profitable tourism sector, we simply need to focus, be patient and deliberate. If we do so, we can be a self-reliant and wealthy nation. (To be continued)
—The writer is an entrepreneur and sector development.
