January 2, 2006	Monday	Zilhaj 1, 1426

Tourism is the largest industry in the world. In 2004, according to the World Tourism Organization, countries made more than six hundred billion dollars from their tourism industries. To get an idea of how big is this amount, remember that Pakistan is trying to get its total exports reach $17billion mark this year. Events like 9/11 derailed the growth of tourism for some years but this industry is again growing at the rate of ten percent internationally.

Looking at South Asia’s share in this industry, however, is discomforting. South Asia, home to many scenic spots and one of the oldest civilizations, earns only $11.6 billion i.e. less than two per cent of the world total. It is by far the smallest share of all the different regions of the world. Moreover, according to the World Tourism Organization forecast, the situation will not change much even in 2020.

Pakistan’s earnings are around $190 million out of an industry of six hundred billion dollars, around hundredth of a percent. Although, it is growing at a healthy rate in the last few years, the overall amount is still very small even compared to countries like Sri Lanka and Maldives. There are several reasons of the low tourist traffic to Pakistan. The first one is the current war on terror, which generates negative publicity, showing Pakistan as an unstable country and a hub of terrorist activity.

Second, due to lack of infrastructure like roads, hotels, trained guides who are non-existent or below standard.. Being conscious of our Muslim identity, we cannot provide the kind of entertainments which a majority of tourists want and many other Muslim countries provide without thinking twice.

Earlier this year, PM Shaukat Aziz, declared 2006 as ‘Visit Pakistan year’. How we can make the next year a real watershed in the history of Pakistan tourism? A better way will be to focus on niche tourism. This concept has emerged in the last few years as a counterpoint to mass tourism.

Like niche marketing, niche tourism segments the overall market and then targets a specific group of individuals. These individuals have needs different than the mass market and are usually unsatisfied. Experts have come up with several distinguishing features of niche tourism.

Niche tourism is built around the consumer needs. It is more informal and less packaged. It is more sustainable and eco-friendly. All these characteristics will be clear if we look at them in contrast to what mass tourism stands for. Mass tourism is illustrated best by a packaged week trip.

One knows before the start of trip where one will be on a specific time e.g. four o’clock on the third day. One knows whom one will meet, what one will eat and how much one will spend. The best thing about mass tourism is that it is low cost and as there are no surprises, so there is no danger. Everything is taken care of for the intending tourist.

The worst problems are the lack of individual and intimate experiences and ecological disasters that it generates. It was these problems that lead to the birth of niche tourism. Examples of adoption of niche tourism concept are found all around the world like wildlife tourism in Namibia, tribal tourism (Cannibal tours) in Papua New Guinea and blue lagoon cruises in Fiji.

Niche tourism for Pakistan will mean concentrating on one segment of tourist activity. Pakistan is a beautiful country with a long history so it has several options. It can concentrate on its history. Indus civilization is one of the oldest in the world and Gandhara civilization will be particularly fascinating for the South Asian tourists.

Pakistan can promote its wildlife and deserts. And Pakistan can focus on its high mountain ranges. A question can be asked why we should focus on one particular aspect of our beautiful country and limit ourselves? The main reason is costs/benefit analysis. If we can get more money by focusing on one product, then we should make that one product successful rather than making six different products and losing. Moreover, marketing of tourism needs money. How much money Pakistan can spare for promoting tourism after the recent earthquake?

The first step for niche tourism, instead of mass tourism will be to segment the tourist market and look what we can offer which no other country can. The answer is easy: high mountain climbing. Our civilization is old but there are many historical places such as Europe and Egypt whose history is more known and more popular, so it will be difficult for Pakistan to compete with them.

With K-2 and eight of the twenty highest peaks in the world, we have assets that few other countries can match. Recently, Giovanni Alemanno, the Italian agriculture minister, on a trip to Pakistan for celebrating K-2 conquering by Italians said, “ For the people who love mountains, it is heaven here”.

The second step is how to market the” mountains” to the world. Tourists will go anywhere, if the place is correctly marketed. For example, there are tours for going around the sewers of Paris or the public toilets of London and people pay a lot to go through these places.

Most of the high mountain climbers come from a select group of countries. One may ask why? There are two reasons. First, to be interested in high mountain climbing you have to have spare income, as it is a costly sport. So, the most of the mountain climbers belong to high-income countries. Second, to be interested in climbing, you must have high mountains nearby to climb to and develop your initial interest.

So, most of the climbers come from countries where there are high mountains. This leaves only a few countries we have to focus on. Our major markets will be central European countries close to Alps, New Zealand, USA, Canada and Japan.

In these countries, we can take the following steps to promote visits to Pakistan.

*Try to contact and establish permanent links with the associations of mountain climbers, guides etc. in these countries. Give free tours to the associations’ representatives and ask for suggestions on how to improve the tourists stay facilities;

*Select the tour operators in these countries that specialize in providing services to mountain climbers and provide them financial incentives for sending maximum tourist traffic to Pakistan. For example, ‘the international tours operators for mountaineering also provide guides who can be contacted;

*Pakistani missions in these countries can invite the famous mountain climbers to their functions and nominate these people for Pakistan’s civil awards and honorary council generals;

*Project PAITHOM, which has been started in Swat for hospitality training with Austria’s help, should be completed as early as possible;

*Teachers at the International School of Mountaineering, Switzerland can be offered free trips so they can introduce and refer Pakistan to their students;

*Later, long-term financial incentives, such as tax holidays, can be provided to international ski resort operators to generate further tourist arrivals.

Niche tourism promoting mountaineering has the capacity to generate billions of dollars for Pakistan and there is no worrying about quota, tariffs or conditions of foreign governments in this export.

It will also provide employment opportunities to local people and decrease sectarianism stultifying our Northern areas.

Moreover, as these areas are far from population centres and other usual areas of terrorist activity, foreign climbers can enjoy their stay without any problems.

If we really want ‘Visit Pakistan’ year to be a success, we have to strategize, focus and do something extraordinary.