Ramsha Afridi
In 2019, there is no doubt in the International world that Pakistan is the new ‘it scene’. Within the last year and a half, the Pakistani state has gone through a dramatic change of political, social and economic events; shocking the world.
Imran Khans, leadership, China’s keen interest towards Pakistan and the advent of exposure through social media has created a whole new space for Pakistani tourism to flourish.
It all started from when PTI government, a new government sworn in to power in 2018, began to take some serious steps to creating a new, uplifting image of Pakistan, known as ‘Naya Pakistan’. Naya Pakistan promised various changes, with one of the biggest being its effective promotion of Tourism.
In 2018, prime minister Imran Khan himself took to his social media accounts posting beautiful pictures of the landscapes of Pakistan; with curious public even comparing the sights to Switzerland and Europe. IK posted the following viral tweet, on twitter; “From our beaches in the south to Fairy Meadows in the north, and the rich history of our Land, Pakistan has unlimited potential for developing eco-friendly tourism. This is a commitment we are determined to fulfill InshaAllah.”
Not long after this PTI pledge; there was array of trust, curiosity and desire to explore Pakistan by the public.
Social media stars, youtubers, and prominent public figures took this opportunity to discover and showcase their touristic experiences in Pakistan themselves. Youtubers such as Eva Zu Beck, from Poland, who has accumulated nearly half a million followers on her social media, was one figure who travelled extensively across various regions of Pakistan; creating the most mind-blowing content of Pakistan the world has seen in a long time.
Cynthia Ritchie, an American director living in Pakistan, was another public figure who took social media by storm by revealing pictures of herself cycling in the beautiful sceneries of Peshawar. It was evident, that the international public and Pakistani’s themselves have never felt so positive about the touristic prospects of Pakistan before.
Though, there is more to come. Forbes, a major American business magazine near the beginning of 2019 named Pakistan as ‘one of the coolest places to visit in 2019’. Attention towards Pakistan’s potential of tourism was tremendously unravelling from the Western world.
If Pakistani tourism taking up the world of social media wasn’t enough; China, Pakistan’s super power Asian neighbour signed a contract to invest 60 billion dollars in to Pakistani port city Gwadar as well as its infrastructures all around the Nation. The massive step taken by China is bound to not just to help Pakistan create jobs, attract foreign investors but also will attract tourists from all over the world.
China’s pledge has led to heightened security; meaning there is more national safety and refuge available than ever before. The masses have never felt so protected, confident and excited to tour Pakistan ever before.
Clearly, there is a lot to expect and imagine; Pakistan is going through the most fascinating and exciting transition in its 70 year old history. The beautiful nation has no doubt progressed in to modernity and warm heartedly opens its borders to tourism, multi-culturalism and diversity. It was just about time, when Pakistan’s sandy beaches, luscious green mountains, beautiful Arabian sea coastlines were exposed to the world.
