Pakistan has been ranked as the ‘best performing destination’ in terms of tourism during the first nine months of this year. The data about the following has been confirmed by the ‘World Tourism Barometer’, which is published by the World Tourism Organization of the UN.
It is to be noted that, the state of Pakistan has made a remarkable recovery of 92% to the pre-pandemic levels in 2023, as the nation has experienced 115% spike in the foreign tourist arrivals as compared to the last year, which has shown strong comeback post-covid.
With the recovery reaching 115pc and projections of the international receipts reaching $1.3 billion by the end of this year, Pakistan stands as a beacon in the tourism resurgence, showing its potential on the world stage. The above mentioned statement has been made by the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation Managing Director, Aftab Rana.
Notably, Rana, attributed this win to the concerted efforts in the tourism promotion. Pakistan has actively taken part in the six major global events for projecting the tourism potential in the nation.
A strategic online outreach, along with the launch of the “Salam Pakistan” tourism brand in August 2023, made significant contribution to attracting a vast range of visitors from across the world.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Tourism, Wasi Shah, extended congratulations to the PTDC team and the industry partners for the achievement, expressing optimism for a strong performance in 2024 despite existing challenges. Rana talked highly of the collaborative efforts of PTDC, provincial tourist departments and the private sector operators, highlighting the role of global events in expanding the international partnerships.
According to the WTO Tourism Barometer, other leading best performing destinations were Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Turkiye and Romania among countries from Europe, Asia-Pacific, Americas, Africa and the Middle East. Egypt and Serbia were at the bottom of the destination countries list.
