Pakistan is a country blessed with many natural resources. This makes it an attractive destination for local and international tourists.
The tourist attractions include natural beauty, rich historical heritage, delicious cuisine, archaeological sites, religious places of historical importance, beach attractions, mountain expeditions and gala desert events.
Pakistan has come a long way in expanding its tourist opportunities.
The country has introduced a visa-friendly policy.
Recently, the government established electronic visa facilities for 175 countries. By availing themselves of this, people can apply for visas in their homes.
Pakistan is home to half a dozen of the world’s highest mountain peaks.
Karakoram, the second-highest mountain peak in the world, is in northern Pakistan, forming part of Himalayas mountain range.
Hundreds of mountaineers flock to Pakistan every year to fulfil their passion and test their skills.
Pakistan is blessed with such geography and topography that it has four seasons. Moreover, at one point, one can experience sizzling heat during summer in the south and snowfall at its northern mountain peaks, simultaneously.
The country offers a broad range of tourist opportunities and
entertainment.
Pakistan is blessed with renowned ancient civilisations: Indus and Gandhara civilisations dating back to 5000 to 6000 years.
The remains of these antiquated civilisations generate interest for tourists and academic researchers and students alike. The Mohenjo-daro, Harappa and Taxila archaeological sites fall in the category of historical and heritage tourism.
There exist vibrant handicraft industries to showcase modern and antiquated products for visitors.
Pakistan also enjoys the honour of being where the game of polo was first invented, and attracts foreign fans to the annual Shandur Polo Festival at the highest attitude of the planet.
Pakistan is also welcoming of religious tourism for people of all faiths and creeds.
Buddhist and Sikh people take a keen interest in visiting the country.
Major shrines and other religious relics are located in Pakistan.
Pakistan is welcoming of these tourists and ensures that they feel at home while visiting their holy places.
There are special arrangements made around these places, so that devotees don’t encounter any
inconvenience.
The government in Pakistan has placed a special emphasis on religious tourism.
One outstanding example of this is the construction of a special corridor between Pakistan and India to assist the followers of Sikh religion. This year is the 550th birth anniversary of Sikh founder guru Nanak Dev. Pakistan has consistently addressed the obstacles standing in the way of construction of this special corridor.
The impediments resulted mainly from the currently tense relationship between India and Pakistan.
But Pakistan has made sure that Sikh followers can visit their shrine, situated in Pakistan close to the border with India, with ease and convenience.
This gesture of goodwill is not limited to present times.
Rather, Pakistan wants to expand this co-operation in future, not only for Sikh people, but for followers of other religions, such as Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism.
The world is increasingly being shaped by the currants and counter-currants of globalisation.
Pakistan sits at a strategic crossroads connecting East and West.
We are aware of these contemporary global and regional trends, which are shaping today’s world with far-reaching future implications.
Pakistan has immense potential to make its mark by using its socio-
economic profile.
Tourism is one such resource, which enables us to communicate our goodwill to the world.
This is one way to ensure and sustain friendly relations among nations.
Pakistan is headed in a positive direction to promote tourism, and people from various countries are responding in a positive manner.
There are large numbers of South African tourists who visit Pakistan every year. This will go a long way to consolidating the friendly relations between Pakistan and South Africa at a people-to-people level.
Khan is the High Commissioner for Pakistan to South Africa