Following an improvement in the security situation, tourism in Pakistan has increased by 300per cent over the past few years, it emerged on Wednesday.

According to the report, 1.75 million tourists visited Pakistan in 2017 alone. Statistics from the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) show that 30pc travellers were domestic.

Also read: Reviving Pakistan’s tourism

According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), last year, revenue from tourism contributed around $19.4 billion to Pakistan's economy and made up 6.9pc of gross domestic product. The WTTC expects that amount to rise to $36.1 billion within a decade.

Apart from an increase in annual tourism, there has been a significant increase in business travelling around the country as well.

Explore: 16 Pakistani tourist spots you must visit in 2016

A lot of credit for the rapid increase in tourism and travelling goes to publicity of different tourist spots through the internet.

The government has been making efforts to promote tourism and make PTDC a financially viable organisation, Managing Director PTDC Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor told APP.

He said that PTDC and the University of Management and Technology (UMT) Lahore had signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the sponsorship of the tourism department's publicity material including banners, website, seminars, and conferences.

Products and services of PTDC will also be promoted through social media.

Recently, PTDC has also launched a Pakistan Tourism Friends Club, in which members of the club will get exclusive 20pc discount on PTDC facilities.

Opinion

Editorial

UAE’s Opec exit
Updated 30 Apr, 2026

UAE’s Opec exit

THE UAE’s exit from Opec is another sign of the major geopolitical shifts that are reshaping the global order. One...
Uncertain recovery
30 Apr, 2026

Uncertain recovery

PAKISTAN’S growth projections for the current fiscal present a cautiously hopeful picture, though geopolitical...
Police ‘encounters’
30 Apr, 2026

Police ‘encounters’

THE killing of nine suspects by Punjab’s Crime Control Department across Lahore, Sahiwal and Toba Tek Singh ...
Growth to stability
Updated 29 Apr, 2026

Growth to stability

THE State Bank’s decision to raise its key policy rate by 100 basis points to 11.5pc signals a shift in priorities...
Constitutional order
29 Apr, 2026

Constitutional order

FOLLOWING the passage of the 26th and 27th Amendments, in 2024 and 2025 respectively, jurists and members of the...
Protecting childhood
29 Apr, 2026

Protecting childhood

AN important victory for child protection was secured on Monday with the Punjab Assembly’s passage of the Child...