A society is made up of various facets that are woven together to form the norms and values. These different facets of the society, including religion, education and language act as the building blocks for the norms and values that are expected to be followed by all members of the society.
When different societies are knitted together, a beautiful mosaic in the form of a national society which represents a country emerges. Pakistan is one such country that is made up of various different societies and therefore possesses a rich culture. This culture, along with the mighty heritage makes Pakistan a must-visit destination! It is on the bucket list of travelers belonging to various faiths including Sikhism, Hinduism and Buddhism.
Be it the Sikhs’ Gurdwaras of Hassan Abdal and Nankana Sahib or the Hindus Mandirs of Shri Swaminarayan and Katasraj, the Buddhists sites of Takht Bahi and Taxila or the Muslim’s necropolis city of Thatta and the various Sufi shrines, Pakistan has got it all.
Every year, people belonging to various religions travel to Pakistan, alone or in the form of a group, to perform pilgrimage of their respective Holy places. These homages have resulted in the development of a niche in the form of religious tourism which in turn expanded the overall tourism industry. Thereby, it won’t be wrong to say that Pakistan can benefit from this increase in the tourism industry and turn into a major revenue generating sector.
There are several reasons as to support this claim. Firstly, the ongoing China-Pakistan Economic Corridor will result in infrastructure development particularly in transportation, telecommunication and energy which will make traveling for pilgrims immensely convenient. For example, Buddhists from countries like China, Korea and Japan will be able to travel by road, due to the construction of Karakoram Highway and other motorways, to various Buddhists sites that are spread all over the country.
Secondly, seeing the potential that Pakistan’s economy possesses, foreign direct investments have also increased in the country. One example of such investment done in the country is that of the World Bank which plans to invest $50 million in order to promote religious tourism in Pakistan. This investment’s primary focus is to help develop the heritage sites related to Sikhism as Pakistan is home to five of the Sikhs’ most important religious sites.
Thereby, it won’t be wrong to say that Pakistan is the Mecca of Sikhs, as a result of which Sikhs from all over the world consider it their religious duty to travel to various shrines in Pakistan. Seeing this potential, it seems like the government plansto attract more and more Sikhs pilgrims. To help smoothen their journey, the government will construct a three-star hotel and a 220 room guest house at Nankana Sahib.
In addition to this, the thriving e-commerce industry in Pakistan serves as a major boost to the tourism industry in Pakistan. This can be proved by the Rocket Internet group’s investments in various startup ventures including Jovago Pakistan, which is the leading hotel booking website of the country. All of these are working towards smoothing the travel experience of the tourists. These startups have already helped in increasing both the local and foreign tourists.
All of these reasons point in one direction; Pakistan has huge potential to turn the long forgotten, faith tourism sector into a thriving sector which will serve as a major boost to the overall economy. This is because, it will attract millions of people belonging to various religions to pay homage and strengthen their beliefs. This will be only possible if all stakeholders play their roles in igniting the prosperity of this particular sector.
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