1.75 million tourists visited Pakistan in 2017

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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan saw an increase in tourism due to an improved law and order situation in the country. In 2017, 1.75 million tourists visited Pakistan.

Domestic travellers increased 30 per cent, according to Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC), while Jovago, the top hotel booking and e-commerce site in Pakistan claimed hotel bookings increased by 80-90 per cent in 2017. According to Jovago, over the past few years, Pakistan has seen a rapid increase in its tourism industry.

World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) puts the total contribution of tourism to Pakistan’s economy at $19.4 billion last year or 6.9 per cent of gross domestic product.

In a decade, the WTTC expects that to rise to $36.1 billion.

The government has been making efforts to promote tourism and make PTDC a financially viable organisation, said Managing Director PTDC Chuadhry Abdul Ghafoor while talking to APP.

Ghafoor said that PTDC and the University of Management and Technology (UMT) Lahore signed a MoU for the sponsorship of PTDC’s publicity material including banners, website, seminars and conferences.

Products and service of PTDC will also be promoted through social media.

PTDC has recently launched Pakistan Tourism Friends Club, in which members of the club will get exclusive 20% discount on PTDC facilities.