Fixing tourism

Tourism industry has failed to thrive under successive governments

If there is a single area of the economy that has failed to thrive under successive governments it is tourism. As a destination in the spectrum of tourist potential Pakistan has no less than arch-rival India, which has a booming tourist trade all of the insecurities there notwithstanding. There was an uptick in the 80s through to the early 90s and then there was 9/11 and the bottom fell out of the foreign tourist market. Gilgit-Baltistan which had — and still has — the best-developed tourist infrastructure in the entire country suffered badly.

There has been a government agency to promote tourism since 1970 — the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC). It owns and runs hotels in prime locations across the country and has been a shambles for years. Today a parliamentary panel has put it under the microscope and is not happy with what it sees. The 39 motels operated by the PTDC have managed to make a profit of just Rs1.1 million in the current fiscal year. The PTDC itself costs Rs200 million a year to run of which Rs180 million go to salaries. It must be noted that there are numerous anecdotal reports of employees at PTDC establishments not being paid for months.

The last two years have seen a dramatic increase in domestic tourism as the security environment improved and a road has opened over Babusar Pass that gives easy access to G-B generally. The link road between Gilgit and Skardu is also being upgraded. With the PTDC having a property portfolio of around Rs600 billion it might be thought that prosperity beckoned — but there is an issue. Ownership. Since the 18^th Amendment and provincial devolution who actually owns the PTDC has become shrouded in mystery. Tourism has the potential to be a significant revenue earner, which could also provide a more positive and ‘softer’ image of the country. It should not be beyond the competencies of even Pakistan’s elected members of legislatures to find a solution to a problem that is to the benefit of all. A week trekking in Hunza, anybody?

Published in The Express Tribune, September 13^th, 2018.

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