Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) is working on a concrete plan to increase religious tourism in the country, which has the potential to be a significant source of revenue for the country.”PTDC is working to promote religious tourism not only for revenue generation purposes, but also to promote religious harmony and tolerance among the people,” said Rana Aftab, Managing Director of PTDC, in an interview. He believes that Pakistan is a country with religious landmarks of various ethnicities and has a large, untapped potential for religious tourism in pakistan. Religious tourism, which includes Buddhmat, Sikhmat, Hinduism, and Christianity-related tourism, is an important segment of the country’s tourism industry with a lot of potential.
Aside from religious tourism in pakistan, there are two other segments in the field of tourism: adventure tourism and cultural tourism. According to the PTDC’s MD, adventure tourism in Pakistan is a distinct segment of the country’s tourism sector, which includes river rafting, paragliding, tracking, mountain climbing, and other new winter sports. Another important segment of this sector, he mentioned, is the country’s culture and archaeological sites, which are a major draw for both domestic and international tourists.
According to Rana Aftab, Pakistan has a 9,000-year history that dates back to Mehr Garh and is a valuable archaeological and cultural asset for future generations. “By promoting these archaeological sites, cultural tourists can be drawn to Pakistan and help the country earn huge revenues, the MD added.
He believes that the tourism sector in Pakistan has a lot of potential as one of the most important job-creation sectors in the country. According to global statistics, one out of every eleven people is directly or indirectly involved with the tourism industry. In terms of economic contributions, MD PTDC stated that the tourism sector is a direct contribution of approximately 1.5 trillion US dollars, and it exceeds 7.5 trillion US dollars if we include the indirect source, which is a significant contribution that countries earn as a result of international tourism.
