Message from Dr. Arif Alvi President Islamic Republic of Pakistan on the occasion of World Tourism Day; 27th September, 2018

The people around the world are celebrating World Tourism Day on 27th September, 2018. We live on a beautiful planet that needs to be protected and preserved.

Pakistan is bestowed with enormously rich cultural heritage, enchanting landscape and splendid beauties of nature. We are a unique and diversified tourist destination. We have however not been able to exploit full potential of this magnificent treasure so far. I am confident that the incumbent Government will make all possible efforts to promote tourism and transform it into a robust industry. This year’s theme “Tourism and the Digital Transformation” is most relevant as the world has now become a global village where most of the people are connected with each other through social and digital media.

Strategy in the tourism industry is destined to become increasingly scientific, seeking to quantify and measure absolutely everything. Defining metrics for each decision and action undertaken is fundamental to maximize tourist flow and obtain competitive advantages. Today, technology makes it possible to trace, interpret and cross-check everything with other data in real time.

Induction of professional manpower is a challenge for the sector. Attracting and retaining talent is basic when it comes to successfully implementing strategy for sustainable growth in tourism sector. Sharing economy is another trend favoured by the digital transformation to revolutionize the tourism industry. Digital transformation has brought with it both challenges and opportunities. On the one hand it has opened up unexplored vistas for potential travelers, thus increasing competition for traditional travel destination. On the other hand it has facilitated the marketing aspect, wherein every visitor can potentially become an important marketing tool.

I hope that in the coming years, we will make our country one of the best travel destinations in the world by effectively deploying information Technology to promote tourism in the country.