WRITTEN BY CH. FAISAL MAHMOOD
We have previously drawn attention to the pressing need for a federal posture for Pakistan Tourism’s internal co-ordination and external unity. The need for a federal Ministry of Tourism is acquiring greater urgency but our politicians have shown their intellectual bankruptcy to understand neither the need nor the urgency.
Tourism’s is not the only voice calling for even a limited restoration of the Concurrent List of yore. Stakeholders in other sectors like education, culture, health – any and every sector which requires internal co-ordination for external impact – have also called for federal dispensations for themselves.
In the present world of globalization, the word co-ordination does not mean only consultation, for which some tell us the federal Ministry of Inter-Provincial Co-ordination should suffice; co-ordination now denotes a visible, unified and enforceable national level of product standards and policy depth for the international community to deal with us.
Though Giligit-Baltistan tourism in collaboration with Pakistan’s most professional and leading domestic tour operator participated in world largest ITB Berlin but there was no united voice for tourism Pakistan, it would have been much better if federal and all provincial tourism organizations have participated together to promote whole of Pakistan.
Now at ATM Dubai, an old man, a leading travel agent of Pakistan is hoisting a National flag on his enclosure, but there too, as the news are coming our national tourism posture is missing
The situation till today is that many cases outside world even does not know whom to contact in Islamabad for extending its formal invitation to Pakistan; it is not for them to go looking into our provinces. Even last year also a provincial government, endowed with financial sufficiency, set up a costly stall at a major tourism marketing event in Europe and put itself on record of the voice and print media as inviting potential tourists to visit that province.
However, we are very optimistic that at home, from the different Platforms we are hearing a very loud, clear, and untied voice for the promotion and betterment of tourism industry of Pakistan. We hope in coming days the senior stakeholders of Travel, Tourism, Airline and hotel industry of Pakistan will move together, towards better tomorrow- tourism wise.
