Tourism is a growing industry in Pakistan. However, the government has not been able to take the tourism market seriously within the country.

Pakistan is home to a diverse number of tourist attractions which have not been funded or maintained due to the low priority given to tourism by the government.

It has been estimated that public and private sectors have gradually earned less income from the tourism market, causing less investment and innovation within the industry.

The latest budget has shown that less money was being spent on research and marketing and more on defence and other fixed markets.

The 2008 World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report (TTCR) ranked Pakistan 103 out of 124 countries as regards visit by tourists.

This low figure was due to a weak travel and tourism infrastructure, low branding and marketing effectiveness and low priority the government gave to the travel and tourism industry.

Despite various campaigns, such as the Visit Pakistan 2007 scheme, the number of tourists has dropped each year.

This year it dropped by six per cent as compared to the figures of last year.

Pakistan cannot compete with international standards. With a poor tourism infrastructure, the provision of standard and competitively priced hotel rooms in Pakistan, the reduction in allocation of national and cultural resources, the prevailing security situation and rising inflation are the main factors in a low turnout for tourism within Pakistan.

The government must take possible steps in order to gain the attention of tourists to Pakistan. Advertising campaigns need to attract tourists by developing holiday packages tailored to taste.

HIRA HASSAN University of Karachi