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Reposted from Dunya Blogs
Author: Ahmed Amin Malik
Published on October 29, 2017
Over 70 years down the annals of history, amidst all the glum odds, Pakistan came into being – in a state that Quaid-e-Azam would famously refer to as ‘a maimed, mutilated and moth-eaten Pakistan’ – but there was this incredible will to survive and a dream to develop the country that kept it going. The sad part is that though we did survive, what successive governments failed to deliver was the promised economic prosperity: one that still remains a pipe dream clouded in much smaller yet shadier promises of ‘roti, kapra and maka’an’.
This is all the more painful when there’s so much promise. Here, I would like to draw attention towards our failed tourism: an industry where we had so much potential to tap but it’s all a dream gone sour. The tourism industry has been awfully neglected since inception. The United Nations 70th General Assembly has designated 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development because tourism has boundless economic promise with it forecasted to contribute a massive US$ 11 Trillion to World GDP (11.4% of GDP). Even locally, the industry could make as much as Rs. 1 Trillion (US$ 10 Billion) by 2025, even with current infrastructure – and this is only a fraction of actual potential of our land that is so often termed as Switzerland of the East and a colloquial heaven on Earth.
Pakistan has so much to offer in terms of adventure, sports, spiritual, heritage and eco-tourism but the only things wrong with the industry are lack of infrastructure and a very frightening security landscape that haunt locals and expats alike. If we were to put these things right, the tourism industry could very well be our economy’s liberator; creating jobs, narrowing balance of payments as well as boosting our sluggish GDP growth but guess what: ride North and the indifference of government will be so absolutely evident.
Take an excursion to the captivating Saif-ul-Mulook and you will re-discover the meanings of the un-metalled road. In fact, there is no road to the lake although this is probably the most frequently visited lake in the country – the approach up the hill is one where the jeep plod on rocks and stones with not even a centimeter-deep mud, gravel or metal to support the tyres. The journey to this Northern haven is an agonizing one.
Unfortunately, the story does not end there, the lake is gradually becoming full of junk and trash; not just because tourists are to blame but mainly because you would find no bins there and then, there’s another catch if you still want to like the place; there are no washrooms there: all I could find was a tent wherein the smell was so much more repugnant than an inflated bladder.
And the woes continue; the place is only open till dusk after which, if you are to believe the locals, you could be quizzed and even detained by police for staying late or camping there. It is almost a crime to sit down there across the lake to witness the reflections of a moon-lit night. And of course, there is no electricity, access to a telephone or cellular signals, a police post or a PTDC desk; there is not even an information-board there – it is all complete wilderness!
Add to it the fact that the nearest hospital from the lake is 100 kilometers or over 3 hours away, all the way down to Balakot. This, coupled with the dismal security situation, which is compounded by the absence of any security posts at major tourist destinations (except for one in central Naran) can make the trip, a scary one if things were to go awry.
And this is not ranting: when you fail to bring infrastructure in the 21st century to a place as celebrated and as captivating as the Saif-ul-Mulook, you lose a plethora of would-be international tourists who would be raring to witness these spectacular sights and the sites beyond this; as this lake also acts as a base-camp for tracks to breathtaking Aansoo Lake and mystical Malka-e-Parbat.
Times have changed. No one tours a place any longer because it’s famed to be a home to fairies or other exaggerations like the lake’s depth being unmeasurable or the adjoining peak being un-surmounted to date; something that the locals insist but nothing can be farther from the truth. All the local breadwinners (drivers, cooks, and shopkeepers) complained about the lack of infrastructure there and how much even something as little as a two-lane road could better theirs as well as the country’s economy.
The mega-projects being undertaken across the length and breadth of Punjab are commendable, but if our Northern Areas were to get only a tenth of these splurge development budgets; we could actually run a great deal of profit and it could change the fate of thousands of Northerners whose sustenance is solely based on revenues from tourism. Tourism linked employment will rise to 111 million worldwide, this year and it would be great if we can put some of our own on this list by delivering on infrastructure.
The menace of terrorism has begun its downward slide since the unification of public opinion, relentless efforts of army and the regime – and that is what brings us to a crucial crossroads – we could either thrive from here-on, if attention is paid to the current austere state-of-affairs; or we could once again orphan this industry and wait as the urge to tour gradually begins to wither away for majority of campaigners.
Lonely Planet, (the largest travel guide book publisher in the world) termed Pakistan as being tourism’s ‘next big thing’ for more years than we care to remember and goes on to label Pakistan as the magic of mountains, the Mughal majesty and the Himalaya less visited. I fervently hope that our National Tourism Policy 1990 gets revisited, an apolitical development scheme is launched not just for the North but all our heritage sites and security situation improves further. If all this were to happen, we might just begin capitalizing on at least one of so many lost opportunities that we have been blessed with!
Reference: http://blogs.dunyanews.tv/18115/pakistans-conundrum-missed-tourism-opportunities
Author: Ahmed Amin Malik
Published on October 29, 2017
Over 70 years down the annals of history, amidst all the glum odds, Pakistan came into being – in a state that Quaid-e-Azam would famously refer to as ‘a maimed, mutilated and moth-eaten Pakistan’ – but there was this incredible will to survive and a dream to develop the country that kept it going. The sad part is that though we did survive, what successive governments failed to deliver was the promised economic prosperity: one that still remains a pipe dream clouded in much smaller yet shadier promises of ‘roti, kapra and maka’an’.
This is all the more painful when there’s so much promise. Here, I would like to draw attention towards our failed tourism: an industry where we had so much potential to tap but it’s all a dream gone sour. The tourism industry has been awfully neglected since inception. The United Nations 70th General Assembly has designated 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development because tourism has boundless economic promise with it forecasted to contribute a massive US$ 11 Trillion to World GDP (11.4% of GDP). Even locally, the industry could make as much as Rs. 1 Trillion (US$ 10 Billion) by 2025, even with current infrastructure – and this is only a fraction of actual potential of our land that is so often termed as Switzerland of the East and a colloquial heaven on Earth.
Pakistan has so much to offer in terms of adventure, sports, spiritual, heritage and eco-tourism but the only things wrong with the industry are lack of infrastructure and a very frightening security landscape that haunt locals and expats alike. If we were to put these things right, the tourism industry could very well be our economy’s liberator; creating jobs, narrowing balance of payments as well as boosting our sluggish GDP growth but guess what: ride North and the indifference of government will be so absolutely evident.
Take an excursion to the captivating Saif-ul-Mulook and you will re-discover the meanings of the un-metalled road. In fact, there is no road to the lake although this is probably the most frequently visited lake in the country – the approach up the hill is one where the jeep plod on rocks and stones with not even a centimeter-deep mud, gravel or metal to support the tyres. The journey to this Northern haven is an agonizing one.
Unfortunately, the story does not end there, the lake is gradually becoming full of junk and trash; not just because tourists are to blame but mainly because you would find no bins there and then, there’s another catch if you still want to like the place; there are no washrooms there: all I could find was a tent wherein the smell was so much more repugnant than an inflated bladder.
And the woes continue; the place is only open till dusk after which, if you are to believe the locals, you could be quizzed and even detained by police for staying late or camping there. It is almost a crime to sit down there across the lake to witness the reflections of a moon-lit night. And of course, there is no electricity, access to a telephone or cellular signals, a police post or a PTDC desk; there is not even an information-board there – it is all complete wilderness!
Add to it the fact that the nearest hospital from the lake is 100 kilometers or over 3 hours away, all the way down to Balakot. This, coupled with the dismal security situation, which is compounded by the absence of any security posts at major tourist destinations (except for one in central Naran) can make the trip, a scary one if things were to go awry.
And this is not ranting: when you fail to bring infrastructure in the 21st century to a place as celebrated and as captivating as the Saif-ul-Mulook, you lose a plethora of would-be international tourists who would be raring to witness these spectacular sights and the sites beyond this; as this lake also acts as a base-camp for tracks to breathtaking Aansoo Lake and mystical Malka-e-Parbat.
Times have changed. No one tours a place any longer because it’s famed to be a home to fairies or other exaggerations like the lake’s depth being unmeasurable or the adjoining peak being un-surmounted to date; something that the locals insist but nothing can be farther from the truth. All the local breadwinners (drivers, cooks, and shopkeepers) complained about the lack of infrastructure there and how much even something as little as a two-lane road could better theirs as well as the country’s economy.
The mega-projects being undertaken across the length and breadth of Punjab are commendable, but if our Northern Areas were to get only a tenth of these splurge development budgets; we could actually run a great deal of profit and it could change the fate of thousands of Northerners whose sustenance is solely based on revenues from tourism. Tourism linked employment will rise to 111 million worldwide, this year and it would be great if we can put some of our own on this list by delivering on infrastructure.
The menace of terrorism has begun its downward slide since the unification of public opinion, relentless efforts of army and the regime – and that is what brings us to a crucial crossroads – we could either thrive from here-on, if attention is paid to the current austere state-of-affairs; or we could once again orphan this industry and wait as the urge to tour gradually begins to wither away for majority of campaigners.
Lonely Planet, (the largest travel guide book publisher in the world) termed Pakistan as being tourism’s ‘next big thing’ for more years than we care to remember and goes on to label Pakistan as the magic of mountains, the Mughal majesty and the Himalaya less visited. I fervently hope that our National Tourism Policy 1990 gets revisited, an apolitical development scheme is launched not just for the North but all our heritage sites and security situation improves further. If all this were to happen, we might just begin capitalizing on at least one of so many lost opportunities that we have been blessed with!
Reference: http://blogs.dunyanews.tv/18115/pakistans-conundrum-missed-tourism-opportunities
