Despite being endowed with a landscape that varies from high snow-capped mountains with lush green valleys and vast and fertile plains with undulating verdant and gold agricultural fields and renowned for the hospitality of its people, Pakistan has not been able to attract tourists in large numbers. It is the least competitive country in South Asia in terms of travel and tourism, according to the Travel and Tourism Competitive Report released by the World Economic Forum on September 5. The report has placed Pakistan at the bottom of the Asia-Pacific Travel and Tourism competitive Index 2019 rankings. Pakistan has ranked 121 this year out of 140 countries against 124 in 2017.
The report stresses that Pakistan needs substantial improvement in competitiveness to move up in rank and out of the bottom quartile. The reasons for this are obvious. Businessmen and investors from the Middle East and other parts of the world like to visit India more than Pakistan. When asked about the reason for their preference for India, they say they visit foreign countries not only for business but also to enjoy their travel.
The report praises Pakistan for being the most improved country in terms of human resources and labour market in the Asia-Pacific region. The unsatisfactory ranking for Pakistan should spur the government into doing the needful. The country is full of spots of natural beauty and places of historical importance. It has Moen Jo Daro in Sindh and Harappa in Punjab where a highly developed civilisation thrived more than five and a half centuries ago. It is dotted with historical sites from the periods of Muslim, Sikh and British rule. It has many sites associated with Gautam Buddha, Ashok and the Kushan period. Pakistan connects South Asia with Central Asia, the Middle East and farther to Europe and Africa. Considering all this, there is no reason why the country should not be a big tourist attraction and bring in the precious foreign exchange.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 7th, 2019.
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