Pakistan: a land of tourism and archaeological wonders

Internationally recognized as home to six United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) heritage sites, the second highest mountain peak, long coastline and extensive cultural and religious heritage, Pakistan offers numerous tourism activities for local and foreign tourists.

It is also a unique country with enchanting deserts, mesmerizing plains and snow-capped peaks, adventurous coasts and numerous cultural and archaeological sites, ancient Islamic architecture and religious sites of Buddhism and Sikhism.

Archaeological wonders of Mohenjo-Daro in Sindh, Harappa in Punjab, Buddhist ruins at Takht Bhai and Sahri Bahlol in Mardan and Taxila, ancient Indus and Gandhara civilizations, Thal and Thar deserts and architecture of ancient rulers, especially the Mughal era, could be future hotspots for tourism.

Five highest peaks above 8,000 meters including the second highest peak – K-2 (8611 m), 108 highest peaks above 7000 meters, Deosai plain, cultural diversity of Sindh, Punjab, KPK, Balochistan and Azad Kashmir , historical monuments and many more across Pakistan are other features of our tourist treasure. Although local tourism has visibly flourished in recent years, these premiums unfortunately remained unused to the maximum due to several reasons, such as insufficient projection, tourism facilities and the public order situation resulting from the unrest in the region.

Since Pakistan has a meager share of global tourism revenue, experts believe that if the government fully utilizes the latest digital technologies and social media to showcase these hidden destinations, it can earn billions of dollars annually.

“Today is an era of digital tourism. Technological advancements have quickly started transforming the travel and hospitality industries, even in developing countries,” said Abu Zafar, President of the Alpine Tourism Club of Pakistan. “We have the most beautiful ski spots, picturesque valleys, rivers and streams, hiking trails, polo grounds, ice hockey fields, deserts for car rallies, sea surfing and mighty peaks to climb.”

But, he said, most of our areas remained under-addressed around the world. “Therefore, we must fully utilize the power of social and digital media and ensure a friendly environment for tourists.”

Despite its diverse potential, Pakistan’s share in the global tourism economy is too low. Therefore, at a time when the international media is predicting a full recovery of the tourism sector by 2024, Pakistan needs to tighten its belt to secure its due share of the trillion-dollar tourism economy.

The UNWTO has recorded an estimated 1,286 million international tourists (overnight visitors) around the world in 2023, an increase of 34% from 2022, as international tourism has recovered 88% of pre-pandemic levels.

The Middle East led the recovery as it was the only region to overcome pre-pandemic levels with an arrival 22% above 2019, Europe reached 94%, Africa recovered 96% and the Americas 90% and Asia and the Pacific recovered by 65% ​​by the start of 2023.

After a strong recovery in 2023, the sector’s outlook, reflected in the latest UNWTO Tourism Confidence Index survey, shows that 67% of tourism professionals indicate better or much better prospects for 2024 compared to 2023.

“Our share is too meager compared to the income from international tourism. We are only getting about a billion dollars from this multi-billion dollar economy,” noted former Chairman of the Department of Economic Affairs, University of Peshawar, Professor Dr. Muhammad Naeem. “This is pathetic and urges us to transform our efforts, taking into account modern trends, and using the latest tools to project our potential.”

“I expect the new government to appoint digital professionals and experts to promote tourism and thus leverage our due share in the tourism economy,” he stated.

Besides the riches of nature in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan, there are ancient and religious sites in Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab that attract millions of foreign tourists.

“Scientific progress and modern technological inventions have effectively turned the world into a global village. Therefore, we must strongly project our amazing sites and archaeological wonders,” said Manzoorul Haq, former ambassador.

“As developed countries have replaced conventional publicity methods with digital tourism, we must also leverage the Global Positioning System (GPS) and artificial intelligence for rapid dissemination of information and projection of our sites,” he stated and suggested protecting v-loggers . bloggers and social media groups for this purpose.

Although Pakistan’s foreign tourism increased by 115% by 2023, as stated by then Minister of State for Tourism Wasi Shah, it still earned only $1.3 billion.

The ‘World Tourism Barometer’ published by the United Nations World Tourism Organization also stated that Pakistan had witnessed a remarkable recovery in tourism to pre-pandemic levels.

The 115% increase is just the beginning of a journey towards an all-out revolution in this sector that can reach 500% or even thousands of percent, provided it is transformed on modern lines that project Pakistan’s potential.

It is unfortunate that a country with much more potential than other countries, earns much lower than them, which urgently needs the right person for the right job, political will and a modern approach to excel in this field.

This approach should be multi-dimensional, promoting natural, religious, cultural and adventure tourism on a war footing to capture precious tourism-related foreign exchange to support our economy and progress towards economic sustainability.