Let's now talk about some of the potential challenges and obstacles that mire Pakistan from becoming the world's best tourist spot.
3.1 Terrorism
Tourism and terrorism are closely interlinked in certain countries because a mismatch between the economic success enjoyed by tourists and the poverty experienced by some residents creates hatred, which is magnified by the host country's economic reliance on the feeder nation (Apleni et al., 2020; Baker, 2020). Tourism in Pakistan has been severely affected by terrorist activities. Post-9/11, Pakistan was viewed as "unsafe" by the international community because of the rise in terrorist activity. It was difficult for Pakistan's tourism industry and economy to grow because of its frequent bombings, targeted killings, drone attacks, and bloodshed. Tourists from around the world were reluctant to visit Pakistan because of the country's law and order problems at the time. As it has dramatically improved despite its dire situation, Pakistan's tourism industry has rebounded to a large extent. A significant amount of work still needs to be done.
3.2 Poor Connectivity Infrastructure
Infrastructure has been mentioned as a potential driver of tourist demand (Naude &Saayman, 2005). A country's tourist offerings are incomplete without infrastructure. International travel demand is influenced by various factors, some of which are related to infrastructure (Mandić et al., 2018). Transport—roads, trains, seaports, and airports—are critical parts of every country's infrastructure. One way to sum it up is this: "Good road infrastructure makes it easier for visitors to travel about the target country, while good airport infrastructure makes it easier for tourists to go from the aircraft into the country's borders or vice versa." Transport infrastructure is an essential aspect of Mauritius' tourist growth (Khadaroo & Seetanah, 2007). Infrastructure has a substantial impact on tourism according to other studies, including those by Naude and Saayman (2005) and Adeola et al. (2005). It was observed that visitors from Asia, Europe, and America were hesitant because of the island's inadequate transportation infrastructure. At the same time, those from Europe and America were dissatisfied with the island's non-transport infrastructure (Ali et al., 2018). As a result of these infrastructural issues and other considerations such as distance, price, and the economic level of visitors, the tourism demand equation was determined to be complex. The capacity of a nation to attract visitors is strongly tied to its transportation infrastructure. Pakistan's road and connection infrastructure has deteriorated due to funding constraints and corruption. The state disregarded remote areas of the country. Many potential tourist attractions remain inaccessible. Even though Pakistan's northern areas have the potential to attract millions of tourists from across the globe, they remain underdeveloped and hence have not yet fully realized their tourism potential. We also have Kashmir, called "heaven on earth," but lack of connectivity and poor road conditions have hampered tourism. The stunning deserts of Sindh and Baluchistan failed to attract tourists.
3.3 Government Negligence to Tourist Places
Pakistan's government has shown a complete lack of interest in improving the country's tourism industry. Building hotels or prospective tourist resorts that may draw both residents and tourists were ignored by subsequent administrations in the past (Arif&Shikirullah, 2019). Tourists who travel often have little choice but to camp or cook for themselves, and not everyone enjoys the experience. Hotels and resorts are thus essential if attractive locations are to be turned into popular tourist attractions (Sadiq, 2021; Khan et al., 2021). One such example is 'Tolipir,' a popular tourist destination in Pakistani Kashmir. The government's disinterest is evident in this location. There is a dearth of motels or lodgings for visitors and bad road conditions and garbage in the area (Akbar et al., 2017; Ajaib et al., 2021). Additionally, Kashmir's Neelum Valley, renowned for its heavenly beauty, speaks loudly about the state of the country's infrastructure. Consequently, both foreign visitors and local people are prevented from bringing the natural beauty of these locations to the attention of the general public.
3.4 Social Challenges
Customer service quality, pleasant attitudes, and the kindness of locals all contribute to increased tourist satisfaction (Aquino et al., 2018; Borden et al., 2017; Paresashvili&Chitaladze, 2019). An additional issue is how locals treat non-native or international visitors (Prabhu et al., 2019). Generally speaking, Pakistanis are courteous, kind, and compassionate. Tourists are greeted with the below slogan in every neighborhood of Pakistan: "Welcome to the land of hospitality" (see picture 1 and 2 in Appendix).
However, this is not always the case. Selfishness is a common trait of financial well-being. People from most tourist destinations are in the same way. Take a trip to the north without a guide, and you will run across folks wanting to nickel and dime you for their services. For the most part, travelers have to deal with the sky-high costs established for goods and services. In places like Murree, where reports of visitors being thrashed by locals have appeared on social media, the second problem is the conduct of the locals. What impressions do Pakistan and its people make in the world? This matter will entice or deter tourists from travelling to Pakistan.
3.5 Role of Pakistani Media
It is well acknowledged that social media has a considerable influence on tourist decision-making and the administration and operations of the tourism sector (Rodríguez-Díaz et al., 2018; Borges-Tiago et al., 2021; Juliana et al., 2021). According to a recent study, the percentage of vacationers using the Internet as a planning resource while making their trip arrangements is rapidly increasing (Dergiades et al., 2018). Gupta (2019) found that social media accounted for more than one-tenth of the search results when analyzing the possibility that online travelers come across social media information via a web search procedure. Pakistan's image has been damaged worldwide because of media portrayals that focus only on the country's tragic accidents, bombings, violence, and other societal problems. Once upon a time, Pakistan's most stunning sights and locations were prominently shown on international television. However, the media at that time had a monopoly on the state. Liberalization of the media has resulted in the proliferation of sensationalized stories that have had negative ramifications for the public's perception of the state. As a result, Pakistan's tourist business has been harmed by the country's unfavorable image of the media.
3.5 Unexplored religious tourist sites
Many countries worldwide are seeing an increase in the popularity of religious tourism, particularly in Asia (Durán-Sánchez et al., 2018; Albayrak et al., 2018; Kim et al., 2020). Historically, travel and religion have had a close relationship, and travel to holy locations has always been famous (Collins-Kreiner, 2020). Today's tourist industry makes it possible for a growing number of non-pilgrims to visit religious places, which are not necessarily affiliated with their own religious beliefs (Patwardhan et al., 2020). Pakistan is home to over 207.8 million people according to the 2017 census and is expected to reach 207.8 million in 2021(Macrotrends, 2021). Pakistan is blessed with numerous religious sites, especially Buddhism, Sikhism, and Christianity. Some of the most famous Buddhist site areas in Pakistan, including Dhamarajika Stupa and Monastery, dating back to 300 BC – 200 AD, Bhir Mound (600-200 BC), Sirkap (200 – 600 AD), Jandial Temple (c.250 BC), and Jaulian Monastery (200 – 600 AD). The Sikh religion has some of the most renowned and sacred religious sites in Pakistan tombs, the biggest being the tomb of Baba Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikh religions. In addition, GurdwaraDarbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Narowal, GurdwaraPanja Sahib famously located in Hasan Abdal, and GurdwaraRori Sahib, Eminabad, Gujranwala are among the most famous Gurudwaras in Pakistan. On the other hand, St Andrew Church Stained glass and Sacred Heart Cathedral in Lahore, Holy Trinity Cathedral in Karachi, and Night view of St Mary's Cathedral and Bishop's House in Multan are some of the places most visited by tourists and locals. Despite such diversity and attraction, Pakistan has never fully explored and developed the sector on a sustainable basis.
3.6 Insufficient private sector investment
As Olimovich (2020), Mandić et al. (2018), and Rozanova et al. (2018) have shown, infrastructure is an essential factor in determining the desirability of a tourism location. Tourist infrastructure has been proven to have a good effect on the quality of life of people, both directly and indirectly, via sustainable tourism development (Mamirkulova et al., 2020). This industry's infrastructure and facilities require large amounts of money for their growth. It has been difficult for the government to devote large amounts of money to tackle this difficulty, since it is a developing nation. There is only one way to deal with this problem: enlisting the help of the private sector. Yet, the tourist business is currently without any policies to encourage private-sector investments.
3.7 Pakistan Travel and Tourism Statistical Data
As per the World Travel and Tourist Council (WTTC, 2021), the Pakistani economy is badly hit.
- The total contribution of Travel and Tourism to GDP in Pakistan dropped to 4.4% (PKR. 1,874BN) of the total GDP as compared to 5.7% (PKR. 2,438BN) in 2019
- The total contribution of Travel and Tourism to employment in Pakistan dropped to 4.8 %( 3,063 jobs-000s) of the total employment in 2020 compared to 5.5% (3, 446 jobs-000s) in 2019. 2020.
- International visitors spend PKR. 118.0BN (2.9%) of total export (USD 729.2MN) in 2020 as compared to PKR. 153.8 BN (3.6%) of total export (USD 950 MN) in 2019.
- Domestic visitors spend PKR. 1,162 BN in 2020 as compared to PKR. 1,667BN in 2019.
- Fig 1 shows the data of tourists those visited on tourist data. We can see there is a dramatic change in tourist's arrival since 2016.
- Table 1 shows the range of international tourists. The data shows that the Pakistan tourist industry has a potential to flourish, but still need serious action to be established.
Table: 1 Make-up of International Tourists
S/No
|
Nationality
|
2016
|
2017
|
2018
|
2019
|
AVE(4years)
|
1
|
Iran
|
3079
|
1673
|
1220
|
1978
|
1988
|
2
|
US
|
478
|
841
|
2798
|
3278
|
1849
|
3
|
UK
|
201
|
317
|
2379
|
3685
|
1646
|
4
|
China
|
220
|
223
|
1295
|
2289
|
1007
|
5
|
Malaysia
|
806
|
502
|
935
|
1353
|
899
|
6
|
Germany
|
325
|
249
|
724
|
911
|
552
|
7
|
Thailand
|
273
|
312
|
916
|
768
|
567
|
8
|
Canada
|
60
|
112
|
907
|
1035
|
529
|
9
|
Australia
|
219
|
191
|
544
|
868
|
456
|
10
|
South Africa
|
364
|
379
|
724
|
460
|
482
|
11
|
Korea
|
375
|
336
|
737
|
586
|
434
|
12
|
Afghanistan
|
129
|
264
|
418
|
809
|
405
|
13
|
Italy
|
106
|
145
|
364
|
582
|
299
|
14
|
India
|
13
|
34
|
738
|
277
|
266
|
15
|
France
|
61
|
68
|
316
|
496
|
235
|
16
|
Oman
|
307
|
52
|
359
|
254
|
243
|
17
|
Spain
|
104
|
80
|
226
|
450
|
215
|
18
|
Mauritius
|
139
|
169
|
231
|
297
|
209
|
19
|
Turkey
|
48
|
48
|
233
|
413
|
186
|
20
|
Singapore
|
19
|
30
|
264
|
403
|
179
|
Source: Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation, 2020