We have rich, varied landscape but unfortunately we are unable to draw foreign tourists because of security situation
KARACHI: I was recently on vacation in Colombo. I saw foreign tourists in abundance there, flocking to the city’s malls, beaches and other tourist spots. And this made me think about the utter lack of such opportunities in my own country, Pakistan.
We have a rich and varied landscape but unfortunately we are unable to draw foreign tourists because of the security situation. If we were able to tackle this challenge and eliminate it then many other industry sectors linked to tourism, such as hotels, transport, entertainment, restaurants and malls would also get a boost.
We can try and learn from India how it markets itself to Western tourists. Even Sri Lanka, which suffered great damage in the 2004 tsunami, and from years of civil war, has managed to make a strong comeback.
Wamiq Haris
Published in The Express Tribune, March 3rd, 2015.
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