As portrayed by the Western media that Pakistan is a state of Islamic hardliners and fundamentalists, who promote training camps for terrorism and with an image of a male dominated society with no women rights and cheating is a common trait, Pakistan looks as if it is a tough sell to the prospective tourists en masse.
Though the West has not heard of Pakistan’s diverse culture, breathtaking scenery, sprawling deserts and splashing rivers, enthralling mountains and sandy beaches with plentiful archaeological sites, it has a lot more to offer to the tourists who visit Pakistan.
Tourism in Pakistan is still in nascent stage due to the geo-political conditions, social and economic constraints; despite that, The Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) has played a key role in promoting tourism in Pakistan.
PTDC was incorporated in 1970 and since then it is striving to attract tourists from every corner of the globe. However, the frail tourism regulatory framework since 1947 and lack of prioritization by the government towards the tourism industry has battered this beautiful land with ancient historical places and enchanting flora and fauna.
Tourism in Pakistan has seen a decline through decades as now Pakistan is being considered as one of the most dangerous destinations to visit. The military operations in Pakistan’s scenic sites viz. Swat and other areas of Khybar Pakhtoonkhwa have dealt an enormous thump to the tourism industry.
Not only this is the reason, the low tourist volume is also blamed for the weak marketing strategies to attract tourists along with a constricted perception about Pakistan’s tourism. In a pre-military operation era, Pakistan was earning a revenue of rupees 18 billion though tourism, however, currently the tourism industry is incurring a loss of rupees 3.5 billion.
Government of Pakistan seems oblivious to the great potential of the tourism industry with is currently on the verge of a collapse. Measures should be taken for the survival of this industry as Pakistan has plentiful tourist destinations where rich culture, excellent cuisine, enchanting metro life and captivating green fields and golden sandy beaches are waiting to welcome the tourists.
