Nearing collapse : Swat’s tourism economy on an edge

Prevalent double-digit inflation and valley’s security situation has resulted in a decline in tourists

PESHAWAR:

The precarious situation of the economy, coupled with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s (K-P) security woes, has brought the province’s tourism industry to the brink of collapse, which will further push the many dependents of the sector below the poverty line.

Residents of Swat who eagerly wait for hordes of tourists to turn towards the picturesque valley as summer starts, have been left disappointed this time around as the downward spiral of the economy, which has blown the purchasing power of the populace to smithereens, means that people are not vacationing like they used to in yesteryears.

“I have been going to Swat every summer vacation for the past decade with my family, but we have not visited this year because of the security situation in Swat and the poor state of the economy,” said Hasan Javed, a resident of Peshawar.

“We have not even considered planning a trip elsewhere because of the high inflation due to which hoteling and travel has become unaffordable,” added Javed.

A transporter at the Peshawar Bus Terminal, concurring with Javed’s assessment, informed The Express Tribune that ever since they raised the fare from Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,500 for a one-way trip to Swat from Peshawar, on account of diesel prices, the number of tourists had declined exponentially. “Last year we did multiple trips every day to Swat, now we make a single trip every 3 or 4 days,” he regretted.

Resultantly, residents of Swat, like Aftab, who depend on the tourism industry, are struggling to make ends meet this year. “We had just started recovering from Covid-19’s impact on tourism, and now a string of terror events and inflation have nearly decimated the valley’s tourism industry,” rued Aftab. “When people constantly keep hearing about terror related events like the police station blast, or the attack on the van of school girls, or the abduction of policemen, who is going to come here?”

Aftab was of the view that the only way to save the valley’s tourism was if the police increased their presence in Swat and assured tourists that they are safe here.

Inspector General (IG) of K-P Police, Akhtar Hayat Khan, during a visit to Swat said in a statement that the provincial police force was doing everything in its power to improve Swat’s security situation. “We realise that tourism is the backbone of Swat’s economy, hence I have directed the police to increase their presence in the area and behave positively with tourists,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 19^th, 2023.