Tourism and host communities

President Obama once called Pakistan “the most dangerous place”. He said so because the northwestern tribal areas abutting Afghanistan had become preferred training grounds and shelter for militants and terrorists of various shades — operating both sides of the border. These were extremely dark and turbulent times which took Pakistan off the tourism radar.

Pakistan has successfully fought and pushed out these invisible enemies and secure erstwhile no-go areas. Obviously, there are still risks around, yet the majority of the country is safe to travel. Let’s take the case of Sheringal and Kumrat Valleys in Upper Dir, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Based on recent travels to these beautiful valleys, I can confidently assert that this serene, mystical, magical and picturesque paradise is one of the best views one can see in their entire lifetime.

The current government’s passion for reviving tourism in Pakistan has undoubtedly started to challenge and transform that narrative into a positive one.

Increasing tourists now seem to feel more confident to explore the beauty of Pakistan. This is good news because tourism, if developed strategically, can earn foreign exchange revenue as well as help in alleviating poverty.

Official forecast says that by 2025, the tourism industry will contribute $9.5 billion to the economy. In 2017, about 1.75 million tourists visited Pakistan — up from 876,000 in 2007. In January 2018, the government announced a new visa policy and in June 2019 it became operational; tourists from over 50 countries can now get visa upon arrival in Pakistan.

Is it enough to attract foreign tourists back? What more can be done to ensure sustainable growth for Pakistan’s tourism industry? Can it help host communities regain and boost their livelihoods of tourist traffic?

Well, all this requires several steps in synch. Host communities in the first place have to be equipped with useful information and skills. They ought to be educated on environmental sustainability with additional emphasis on civic sense and hygiene. Indigenous communities should know where their comparative advantage lies— whether it is in wildlife, traditions, local produce, food, handicrafts, skills, hiking trails or waterfalls — so that they can focus their development strategy around it. Locals should be confident that the beauty of the surroundings in which they live, the richness of their culture, and the warm hospitality they exude, attract visitors in the first place, and thus they need to preserve those gifts of nature and history.

Community-focused development and business strategies can ensure local ownership of projects and help keep profits circulating within the economy. Community-based tourism is more sustainable and helps provide the type of genuine experience that most tourists usually seek.

That is why if tourism can be strategised, it can create sustainable income-generating breaks and create job opportunities, which are needed to absorb large numbers of semi-skilled and unskilled workers. Since a lot of Pakistanis work in the informal economy, including tourism, language and communication skills, lessons in cultural diversity and history, for instance, could create seasonal employment for a lot of community members, particularly those associated with agriculture.

Lastly, the tourism ministry must work as a separate autonomous entity without any overlap within other government departments to further improve processes such as visas, permissions like no-objection certificates, and access to tourist destinations for foreign tourists’ security.

We must leverage technology to strengthen foreigners’ web-access to hotels and airlines in Pakistan since most of them are meanwhile used to online bookings. We need apps and search engines that can direct intending visitors to a centralised portal that is resource-rich and easy to navigate.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 27^th, 2019.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.