Hassam Patoli(BBA Graduate)

Tourism Impact

Tourism is a growing industry in Pakistan. With more and more foreign investment and funding, Pakistan was able to build its major road and air networks to cater mass movements of cargo and inter-city travel. Roads are being developed by several consultants from the Northern Areas all the way down to the Port of Karachi. However, till this date, the government has not be able to take the tourism market seriously within Pakistan. Pakistan is home to a diverse number of tourist attractions which have not been funded or protected due to the government giving the tourism market a low priority.

Several statistics from the last decade show tourism is a "market led industry and not supply driven" which has led a large decline in travel to Pakistan. This has led to fewer tour agencies being set up and development of historical sites. It has been estimated that the public and private sectors have gradually earned less income from the tourism market causing less investment and innovation within the industry. This has led to several sites to depreciate over time and the lack of Minimum International Standards has left many sites in poor states. The latest budget showed that less money was being spent on research and marketing and more on defence and other fixed markets.

The 2008 World Economic forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report (TTCR) ranked Pakistan 103 out of 124 countries to visit. This low figure was due to a weak travel and tourism infrastructure, low branding and marketing effectiveness and low priority the government gave to the travel and tourism industry. Despite various campaigns such as the Visit Pakistan 2007 scheme the number of tourists dropped each year. This year it dropped by 6% as compared to the figures of last year. The lack of facilities within Pakistan cannot compete those of international standards. With a poor tourism infrastructure the provision of standard and competitive hotel rooms in Pakistan, the national and cultural resources being reduced, the security situation prevailing and rising inflation are the main factors reducing tourism within Pakistan.

Many critics have encouraged the government to again attract tourists to Pakistan by initiating the sponsorship of new businesses within the tourist market. Building and maintaining the road and air networks to meet international standards. The maturation of human and natural resources can also contribute in development of this feeble industry. Advertising campaigns need to attract tourist by developing holiday packages tailored to explore the greater regions of the country.

The country's attraction range from the ruin of civilization such as Mohenjo-daro, Harappa and Taxila, to the Himalayan hill stations, which attract those interested in winter sports. Pakistan is home to several mountain peaks over 7000 m, which attracts adventurers and mountaineers from around the world, especially K2. The north part of Pakistan has many old fortresses, ancient architecture and the Hunza and Chitral valley, home to small pre-Islamic Animist Kalasha community claiming descent from Alexander the Great. The romance of the historic Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is timeless and legendary, Punjab province has the site of Alexander's battle on the Jhelum River and the historic city of Lahore, Pakistan's cultural capital, with many examples of Mughal architecture such as Badshahi Masjid, Shalimar Gardens, Tomb of Jahangir and the Lahore Fort. Before the Global economic crisis, Pakistan received more than 500,000 tourists annually. Tourism in Pakistan is still a growing industry. Major attractions today include

Hassam Patoli(BBA Graduate)

ruins of Indus valley civilization and mountain resorts in the Himalayas. Himalayan and Karakoram range (which includes K2, the second highest mountain peak in the world, attracts adventurers and mountaineers from around the world. Karachi, Peshawar and Lahore are major attractions for authentic Pakistani food and culture.

Helping Poor Countries

What the wealthier nations need to do is lend tiny amounts of money to enterpreneurs in poor countries (this is called microeconomics). A microenterprise will usually operate with fewer than 10 people and is started with a small amount of capital. Most microenterprises specialize in providing goods or services for their local areas.

This will allow poor people to take the risks large corporations take, but on a smaller scale. When the loans are being paid back, a new loan with increase is issued and more goods and services can be created and more poor men and women in the neighbourhood can find employment.

In terms of agricultural and industrial development, it is necessary to educate the next generation so eventually they can run their own economy. Rich nations can offer scholarships and organize exchange programs for students and professionals.

Microeconomics is concerned with the interaction between individual buyers and sellers and the factors that influence the choices made by buyers and sellers. In particular, microeconomics focuses on patterns of supply and demand and the determination of price and output in individual markets (e.g. coffee industry).

Controlling Pollution

The only way to 'stop' pollution and the degradation of our environment is to force people to pay for the cost of their production. This means they will need to pay for their CO2 emissions, their waste that ends up in our water systems (think agriculture using pesticides), etc. We also have disgusting practices when it comes to harvesting our natural resoures.

An example of this being our fishing industries. They use terrible techniques to fish, destroying the fabric that holds our ocean's ecological system (relationship between organisms and their environment) together. Thus in fact destroying it's capability to produce in the future. You see the ocean is often overlooked as it is 'invisible' to most of us. That does not mean it is not very important, as the ocean produces 70% of the oxygen we breath and is vital in the removal of CO2 emissions from our atmosphere.

As long as people do not carry the cost of their production and destruction we will never live sustainably and thus we can see ourselves as committing suicide as a race.