Tourism is an industry with great potential in Pakistan. However, the government has not been able to take the tourism market seriously within Pakistan. Pakistan is home to a diverse number of tourist attractions which have not been funded or protected due to the government giving the tourism market a low priority.
It has been estimated that the public and private sectors have been gradually earning less income from the tourism market because of less investment and innovation within the industry. The latest budget showed that less money was being spent on research and marketing and more on defence and other fixed markets.
The 2008 World Economic forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report (TTCR) ranked Pakistan 103 out of 124 countries to visit.
This low figure was due to a weak travel and tourism infrastructure, low branding and marketing effectiveness and low priority the government gave to the travel and tourism industry. Despite various campaigns such as the Visit Pakistan 2007 scheme, the number of tourists dropped each year.
The national and cultural resources being reduced, the prevailing security situation and rising inflation are the main factors reducing tourism within Pakistan. Government must take possible steps in order to gain the attention of tourists to Pakistan. Advertising campaigns need to attract tourist by developing holiday packages tailored to explore the greater regions of the country.
HIRA HASSAN
Karachi
