LAHORE : The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) saidthat the government needs to turn tourism into a key driver forsocio-economic development and poverty reduction, said by Dr.Murtaza Mughal, President Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW).
He said that Pakistan needs and draw advantage from Chinesetourism industry, the world's fourth largest that ranks third intotal outbound travel spending.
China is poised to become world's number one economic power whilewestern nations and struggling to sustain growth rate. At present, 25 million Chinese are travelling each year; thenumber is expected to double by 2020. This means that they would bespending $590 billion per annum. He said that Government should plan to attract Chinese touristsfor the sake of development as they feel very comfortable inPakistan, he demanded. Our exemplary relations have done little to attract Chinesetourists, he said adding that Pakistan's share in Chinese leisurespending remains very low, said Dr. Murtaza Mughal. Anyone interested in tapping China's booming tourism sectorshould first understand their needs and expectations. Majority of Chinese travellers are reported to be dissatisfiedwith arrangements in the tourist destinations which is anopportunity for Pakistan's hospitality sector. He said that Chinese tourists are current spending around 295billion dollars which is just the tip of their tourism iceberg. Attracting tourist dollars can make an important contribution toour foreign exchange earnings, create employment and benefitbackward areas. We should realise that the business volume of tourism hassurpassed that of oil exports. It has become one of the majorplayers in international commerce therefore it cannot be neglectedany more, said Dr. Mughal.PPI
