KARACHI: Over the course of ten years, Pakistan is expected to witness a surge in foreign visitor arrivals of almost thirty percent, officials announced.
- According to PTDC officials, 17,000 of the 3.2 million foreign visitors to Pakistan last year were there on tourist visas.
- Pakistan originally advertised the goods and services of seventy-two domestic and foreign hospitality enterprises.
- Out of the 3.2 million international visitors to Pakistan in the previous year, 17,000 came with a tourist visa.
We predict that, in accordance with current government policies and initiatives to boost both domestic and foreign travel, the number of tourists will rise by thirty percent by 2030. Deputy Media Manager of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) Mukhtar Ali told Arab News following the completion of a three-day hospitality event in Karachi on Thursday.
The Karachi Expo Center hosted the event, where about 72 domestic and foreign exhibitors showcased their goods and services.
“To attract local and foreign tourists, the hotel, food, and cultural designing sectors have showcased their products and services,” Ehtesham Bari, Director of Marketing at Badar Expo Solutions, said to Arab News.
Over 30,000 local and foreign guests attended the three-day event, which included a tourist summit and workshops on food and safety.
The purpose of the event was to showcase Pakistan’s hospitality industry in order to draw in investment, particularly from overseas countries where the travel and tourist industry has developed.
Bari continued, “The next exhibition will be exclusively held for investors from Turkey, Sri Lanka, UAE, Malaysia, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. Global investors at places like Turkey, Malaysia, UAE, and other countries are exploring international markets where they can utilize their expertise.”
The exhibitors expressed optimism that the event will play a significant role in attracting foreign investors and expertise to the nation’s hospitality industry. According to Zubair Ahmad Khawaja, an exhibitor from Azad Jammu and Kashmir who showcased particularly made shawls, “Indonesian and Malaysian visitors have shown special interest in our products and the area as they were introduced,” Arab News reported.
Government employees claim that as the nation’s conditions for law and order improve, the tourism industry in the nation is expanding. “1.4 million tourists traveled to various locations across the nation last year. Mukhtar Ali of the PTDC stated, “This number has increased from 1.2 million in the previous year.”
Adventure and religious tourism are the country’s main areas of concentration under the new tourism development strategy.
The National Tourism Coordination Board is working to complete a comprehensive policy that will provide us with a roadmap and creative packages to draw tourists from the Gulf countries. The policy is based on the suggestions of consultative groups and stakeholders. Additionally, it would aim to increase the number of Sikhs, Hindus, and Buddhists visiting the nation’s archaeological monuments, said Ali.
Pakistani officials anticipate a significant influx of investors and visitors in the upcoming years as a result of the visa-on-arrival provision being extended from 24 to 155 nations.
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