TOURISM IN THE DOLDRUMS

AS recently as the late nineties, it was a rare summer day when you didn’t run into a western tourist, usually of the backpacking kind, in the more accessible parts of northern and north-western Pakistan. The Kaghan valley, Swat, Hunza and Skardu, among other picturesque settings, seemed to be favoured destinations and the coach from Timergarah in Dir to Chitral via Lowari Top carried a foreign contingent more often than not. All that changed in the aftermath of 9/11, but until a few years ago these areas still saw the more adventurous sort of foreign visitor. Now that flow has been choked to the faintest of trickles and in many an area no foreigner dares to tread. Even more alarmingly for the tourism industry, this fear is shared by many Pakistanis and the number of domestic tourists has also plummeted.

This is not surprising given the murderous events of recent years. Venturing into areas wracked by militancy means courting disaster at every turn, and few are willing to take such risks. The Swat valley, once a favourite haunt of Pakistani tourists and where locals now fear for their lives, has suffered grievously as a result. The enterprising people of Swat have long been dependent on tourism and businesses related to the industry — hotels, motels, eateries, gift shops and retail outlets, rent-a-car firms, trout farms, etc — have been dealt a crippling blow by the ongoing insurgency. It was estimated last year that some 12,000 Swatis and their families were directly dependent on the hospitality industry. Financially, they were already in dire straits in the summer of 2007. Their plight now doesn’t bear contemplation.

According to the tourism ministry, 2008 has seen a four per cent drop in foreign ‘tourists’. This may not be a staggering figure but it is most likely misleading because the FIA and immigration authorities do not distinguish between tourists and foreigners here on business. Nearly 558,000 foreigners had visited Pakistan by the end of August but the total surely included businessmen, NGO workers and officials of other international organisations, and possibly even diplomats. It is safe to say that genuine tourists were in a small minority on this fairly short list. The situation, unfortunately, is not going to improve anytime soon for the fight against militancy, despite some recent gains, is far from over and the scars could take even longer to heal. World Tourism Day, which was observed on Saturday, held little meaning for Pakistan.--Dawn