By Talal Bin Jawaid
The word “tourism” is incomplete in its nature without the inclusion of word “food”. Food plays a vital role in facilitating the tourism industry of any country. Fortunately, Pakistan is blessed with ample of traditional cuisines which have the potential to cater the food tourism in the country. It would be right to say that the food tourism in Pakistan has a great potential to flourish in near future.
Unfortunately, the tourism industry in Pakistan has had faced many backlashes in the past due to the internal security disorder. Not only this, the COVID-19 pandemic unleashed drastic ramifications on the tourism and food industry. Food tourism plays an integral part in blooming the economy of Pakistan. It also enables us to portray the righteous image of the country in front of the world. It also shares the cultural and moral values between tourists. Moreover, it strengthens the diplomatic relations with other countries. Food tourism also promotes food fusion which alters the traditional cuisines thus, revolutionizing the culinary arts.
Regrettably, there lies some hurdles in promoting the food tourism in Pakistan which can be encountered by applying some doable measures. First of all, the law and order situation of the country should be further improved as security and tourism are prerequisites. In addition, hygiene and cleanliness must not be neglected. Moreover, appropriate use of social media to highlight the potential of food tourism of the country would be of great worth. Also, inviting international vloggers, ambassadors and celebrities to the country, to show them the versatility and capacity of traditional food would escalate the food tourism.
In addition, holding food festivals to promote the traditional food would be eye catching for the foreigners. Furthermore, organizing culinary competitions with other countries would provide an opportunity to present our traditional cuisines in front of the world. In addition to this, imparting quality education in the culinary and hospitality arena is mandatory. Finally, agile participation of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation in formulating the policies to boost food tourism is imperative.
In a nutshell, Pakistan has the ability to emerge as a giant in food tourism if right decisions are made at the right time by the policy makers.
