"Tourism has grown to be the largest service industry in the world - catering to over 900 million tourists annually and generating over $900 billion, it is a source of substantial revenue for many nations... (but) Pakistan lags far behind, failing to reach even $250 million - and Sindh earns a mere fraction of even that!," Sindh Tourism Minister Shazia Marri lamented while issuing a policy statement under Rule 215 in Sindh Assembly on Friday.
She said tourism still remained an unfamiliar territory for Pakistan, which was unable to lay claim to more than 0.02 percent of this revenue. "This is particularly unfortunate given our potential. Where Turkey, Malaysia and Thailand earn annual revenues of $21 billion, $15 billion and $12 billion, Pakistan lags far behind," she added.
Marri viewed that the country had been unable to tap the "unlimited potential" and "blessings" of its tourism industry due to factors, like terrorism and intermittent dictatorial assaults on democracy. "From the shrines of Sufi saints to the ancient ruins of Moenjodaro; from the vast expanse of the Thar desert to the mountains of Khirtar; from the largest fort in the world at Ranikot to the birthplace
of Emperor Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar; from the ruins of Bhanbhore and Mansura to the tombs of Makli; from the placid waters of Keenjhar and Kelangker to the 250 kilometers of turbulent coastline Sindh has been extraordinarily blessed and has unlimited potential for tourism.
Unfortunately however, this potential remains untapped and our blessings go ignored," she said. The minister said tourism was the backbone of many of those economies, who had opened their doors for the world to see their splendour. In this regard, she illustrated countries like Turkey, Malaysia and Thailand whose annual earning from the tourism industry stood at $21 billion, $15 billion and $12 billion respectively.
"Given Pakistan's checkered history and the opposition to democratic governments, all sectors including tourism have been adversely affected. Moreover, owing to the challenges arising in the wake of the war on terror tourist flows further decreased," she said. She said her government was working to successfully address the outstanding issues and concerns standing as obstacles on the road to Pakistan's prosperity.
"Today, the Sindh Government stands committed to furthering the tourism industry," Marri said. She also appealed to the people of Sindh province "to come forth and do their part in the promotion of tourism in Sindh". Urging the strong need for Public Private Partnership, the minister said the time was ripe for developing and fostering such partnerships in the tourism sector.