Pakistan tourism industry on the path of recovery.

Byline: S. Kamal Hayder Kazmi

Pakistan: a best holiday destination for 2020

In 2018, the Travel and Tourism (TandT) industry helped generate 10.4 percent of world gross domestic products (GDP) and a similar share of employment, and has shown enormous resilience over the last decade, international study revealed.

Fueling this expansion and relative resilience is the ongoing growth of the middle-class in Asia and other parts of globe. In the coming decade, it is reported that the industry contribution to GDP is predicted to increase by about 50 percent. In light of this expansion, policy-advisors, industry leaders and other stakeholders will have to pay closer attention to TandT competitiveness to capture this rising market. While government and business actors alike would need to consider what competitiveness levers they can activate to retain or gain market share, special consideration needs to be given to sustaining tourism infrastructure, services and assets.

As numbers of business and leisure travellers increase the world over, there are also reports that improvements in competitiveness will need to be undertaken alongside careful planning for tourism management and carrying capacity of destinations. The consequences serve as a tool for policy-advisors, TandT businesses and other stakeholders to understand and advance the necessary dialogues and actions that would ensure the longevity of this critical sector.

In 2018, according to the World Tourism Organization's statistics, the number of foreign tourist arrivals globally stood 1.4 billion, 2-year before it was expected to do so. That year also marked the 7th year in a row where the growth in tourism exports (+4 percent) exceeded the growth in merchandise exports (+3 percent). Given this rapid pace of growth, the prediction that foreign arrivals would stand 1.8 billion by 2030 may be conservative.

According to Conde Nast Traveler magazine published an article under the title 'The best holiday destinations for 2020' where Pakistan has been ranked on the top, meanwhile, UK, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia ranked second, third, and fourth, respectively. Pakistan comes out on top owing to its ancient valleys, relaxed visa restrictions, as well as, Prince William and Kate Middleton's visit this year.

Pakistan has been put on the second top nation that ought to be visited by vacationers in 2020, The Independent newspaper vowed by giving reference of top travel planner organizations - the examination...