Reviving tourism

Pakistan, as a whole, has enormous potential as a tourist destination, but from a high point in the early 1990s, it has been downhill all the way since. Hunza and Gilgit-Baltistan, generally, have been magnets for tourists and mountaineers for decades. There are still a handful of mountaineering expeditions every year but security concerns have driven away foreign and domestic tourists alike. The mountainous north is not the only place to enjoy the considerable delights of a diverse, and for the most part, safe country — a reality often overlooked in the unending stream of bad news.

The Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab (TDCP) has now unveiled proposals, which would allow visitors to get the best out of the many sites of interest in south Punjab. The tourist season is limited to the cooler months and there are, at least, 27 potential destinations, some of them truly spectacular. The Derawar Fort is one of the finest pieces of historical military architecture in the subcontinent. The Cholistan Desert has an eerie tranquillity and emptiness. Tours will be arranged of Bahawalpur City and by boat to sight the Indus dolphins. Jeep and camel safaris can be organised and there is plenty to beguile anglers and ornithologists, in particular the variety in winter migratory birds. There are also many sites of religious or spiritual interest in the itinerary on offer. The TDCP tours appear aimed at the domestic market and for them to be successful, there is going to have to be an unequivocal undertaking regarding the security of those who book them. There is a wealth of cultural heritage in south Punjab that is ripe for integration into the tourism portfolio that Pakistan has to offer. Despite this, the area is often overlooked, with the international desert jeep rally in February or March each year being the only major regional event that attracts tourists in large numbers. The TDCP initiative is thus to be welcomed and it is hoped it will provide the spark of revival for a much-neglected sector of the economy.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 23^rd, 2013.

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