BIZ TODAY REPORT
KARACHI: Pakistan’s hospitality, travel, and tourism industry are picking up and with improvement in the security situation, all the indicators are positive. The growth in travel is visible from air travel and hotel occupancy are among the top indicators of travel and travel and tourism industry growth.
With less than a million foreign tourists visiting Pakistan on an average, Pakistan has been able to improve its ranking by one point in 2017. Currently at 124 out of 136 countries covered in the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index 2017 released by the World Economic Forum. The report cites the fact that the quality of tourism infrastructure got the ranking of 123 while hotel rooms got the ranking of 129.
In 2017, the hospitality and travel industry continues to make a real difference to the lives of millions of people by driving growth, creating jobs, reducing poverty and fostering development and tolerance. For the sixth consecutive year, industry growth outperforms that of the global economy, showcasing the industry’s resilience in the face of global geopolitical uncertainty and economic volatility.
It is important to mention that Pakistan has a total of 36 world heritage cultural sites and attractiveness of natural assets scored 127.
To highlight the importance of this industry Hashoo group is organising a hospitality conference on Saturday 25th of November at Pakistan Travel Mart at Expo Center Karachi. The conference will take into account the challenges faced by hospitality and travel industry in Pakistan. There are three key sessions at the conference where the first session will talk about the whole industry. There is a second session looking at the future of travel industry in Pakistan with special emphasis on how digital and social media is changing the scenario.
And finally, there will be a session on the budget travel industry where industry leaders will share their insights about this growing sector. The industry leaders will speak on the panels and talk about challenges as well as opportunities.
