Guest Post by Bradistan Calling
The government has decided to celebrate the year 2007 as ‘Visit Pakistan Year‘.
Tourism is one of the biggest industries in the world. It can bring employment, opportunities and recognition. Pakistan is one of the best kept secrets of the tourism industry. Posts on ATP - on our various hidden tourist gems, our history, our culture and heritage, etc. - are examples of all that Pakistan has to offer. Everyone has their own ideas on Pakistan and pakistaniat; but ATP has demonostrated our ‘unity in diversity.’
ATP is the right forum for discussing how we can make “Visit Pakistan 2007″ a success.
What avenues can be explored for participation and promotion of Pakistan. How can we 
attract tourists to Pakistan in 2007 and beyond? What can institutions like the national flag carrier (PIA) do to become a calling card for Pakistani tourism and hospitality? What role can the media play in this? And what can Pakistanis abroad do?
If those Pakistanis who live abroad decide to take ‘Visit Pakistan 2007′ seriously, others will surely follow.
Bradistan Calling is a proud Pakistani in Bradford, West yorkshire (Little Pakistan).
Well first of all get rid of hatred for foreigners. Security situation is worse then it has been in past. I was surprised how much Anglina Jolie liked Pakistan, but we cannot provide security like that to everybody. I am pretty sure that there are many celebrities who really want to visit Pakistan and hollywood/bollywood movies can be shot here. Our biggest problems to the tourism industry are the fanatics. Movies are one good way of promoting tourism, because thats how people come to know about the beauty of the country and tourist locations.
For starters you can try to make it safe for foreigners so that ppl like Daniel Pearl don’t get beheaded !!!
I do not think that it can be a successful project…safety for foreigners is one issue….another issue is why should people come for a vacation to Pakistan? Alcohol is not served in resturants, there are no bars and nothing ‘colorful’ event that could attract foreigners…..If people spend money, they wanna have fun…they’d rather go to India, Thialand or Singapore….I believe only those people visit who have specific hobbies, like mountain climbing…
Projects like those will attract the globalised elite - Pakistani and non-Pakistani - already here but are doubtful to get new, more regular visitors in.
check this out:
http://www.beautifulpakistan.com
and share it with your friends.
By the way, I think the initiatives like a 7 star hotel like the Centaurus already discussed here a number of occasions is an indication that the government is looking forward to the hospitality and tourism industry. There are also several really mammoth projects started in Lahore and Karachi especially the Port Tower.
Good thing is that most of the investments in these high end projects are foreign so we don’t have much in stakes to bet on.
sounds great but nothing will happen unless things on the ground change… I am not sure Pakistan is as hidden or as much of a ‘gem’ as we think. we have serious problems, solve them, and the tourists will come themselves.
Not too long ago I saw a program on GEO TV which, in my opinion, was the best productionon on GEO to date, “George Ka Pakistan”. I realized how small and minuscule things about Pakistan end up amazing westerners/tourists. Spending a few nights in a village, witnessing a tribal Jirga, visiting the beautiful north, or the ports of Gwadar. There is no doubt a whole lot that needs to be planned by us/our Govt, what and how exactly we want to show the tourists, and of course beautifying those “tourist gems” and lastly we need to hire a well reputed PR firm to promote our agenda. I think it will take way more than a year to have Pakistan appear on the tourism map of the world, to name 07′ as the Visit Pakistan Year is definitely a good start.
Until crime goes down, the political situation stabilises and PIA improves it’s appalling safety record, I’m not sure much can be done to appeal to the average tourist.
Having just returned to Bradistan from a trip to Lahore, I’d be comfortable inviting along a foreign friend if they had people around to keep them wise, but I don’t know if it’s suitable for inexperienced foreigners.
Interestingly enough Nawaz Sharif was pushing a Visit Pakistan 2000 program shortly before he got the push.