Pakistan is among the countries that have shown a steady increase in international receipts from tourism, as the South Asian country gradually comes out of years of turmoil and security challenges.
However, the country has still a lot of work to do to catch up with other South Asian nations including neighboring India that is the biggest destination for international tourists in the region.
The UN Tourism Organization (UNWTO) data shows Pakistan improving its share of international tourism receipts in the three years up to 2017. A recent Bloomberg report said the number of tourists visiting the South Asian country tripled in the last four years.
Last year, more than two million people from across the world visited Pakistan.
A unique Kalash culture, Image Credit: Manalahmadkhan/Wikimedia Commons
The new government in Islamabad – led by Prime Minister Imran Khan – has vowed to capitalize on the huge tourism potential the country offers. But doing that will depend on a host of factors including a stable outlook with law and order, a well-orchestrated marketing campaign to improve the image of the country, and efficient services and infrastructure.
Acknowledged as the third largest export category in the world, tourism witnessed a growth in number of tourists for the eighth year in 2017 with earnings rising to $1.3 trillion in receipts.
Data from a specialized agency of the United Nations, reports that international arrivals reached 1.323 million last year – eight years after economic recession.
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A view of food market in Lahore, Image: FaizanM41 /Wikimedia Commons
The ongoing 2018 year indicates international tourism continues to grow, “with a year-on-year increase of 6% in arrivals between January and April, says the latest edition of Tourism Highlights.
The report released on Monday says the jump in the number of visitors represents an 84 million increase over 2016.
Amid economic recovery and subsiding security concerns, the tourism sector has seen an “uninterrupted growth” in arrivals for eight consecutive years.
Among regions, Europe and Africa led with upswing in arrivals, recording a growth of eight per cent and nine per cent, respectively.
The UN organization says tourism is the world’s third largest export category, earning $1.3 trillion in receipts in 2017: an increase of five per cent.
The report says total exports from international tourism stood at $1.6 trillion, or an average of $4 billion a day – seven per cent of the world’s exports.
“These strong 2017 results were driven by sustained travel demand for destinations across all world regions, including a firm recovery by those that have suffered from security challenges in recent years,” the UNWTO said.
“Strong outbound demand from virtually all source markets, including rebounds from major emerging economies Brazil and the Russian Federation, benefited both advanced and emerging destinations.”
The 10 top tourism destinations includes seven leaders worldwide in both international tourist arrivals and international tourism receipts: China, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.
China also was responsible for generating nearly one-fifth of the world’s total tourism spending in 2017. Citizens of the world’s most populous country spent $258 billion on international travel last year, the report says.
