Pakistan is considered the 6th most populated region in the world with a population of over 185 million. The diversity in topography all over Pakistan provides a variety of locations for the tourists to visit and explore. The tourism industry is expanding speedily and providing ample opportunities and destinations for the tourists to explore and enjoy. Pakistan is among those countries in the world which is blessed with bare expanses of desserts on one hand to snow capped mountains on the other. Tourists can fathom the beauty of luscious green valleys and bare Rocky Mountains with vast areas of barren land, sunny beaches and mysterious caverns.
Pakistan offers a rich cultural experience as well with every province having its own traditions, attire, customs and cuisine. Ancient sites whispering the forgotten stories of the past and holy shrines masked with masses of worshippers will lend the tourists a diverse experience. A recent survey was conducted to gain an idea about the travel patterns of Pakistan. Interesting statistics were obtained for travels both from and to Pakistan.
International Visitors Timeline:
According to statistics, about 378,000 visitors were entertained by Pakistan in 1995, which increased to 907,000 in 2010. Experts predict that this number will rise to 2,000,000 in 2025.
Purpose of Travel:
Pakistanis travels are more leisure based rather than business based, that is about 27% of the travels are business based, while about 73% is leisure based.
The Most Visited City in Pakistan In terms of Domestic Travels:
Karachi has emerged as the most visited city. It also generates about 35% of domestic travels, while Lhore comes in second with 28%, Islamabad is in third with 14%, Rawalpindi registered 4% while the rest of the cities registered 9% of the domestic travels. While about 28% of the travels are coming to Karachi and 31% to Lahore. Islamabad receives 13% of the visitors and other cities of Pakistan receive about 25% of the visitors.
Remote Bookings:
Other surveys showed the international travelers to Pakistan were from the United Kingdom, Arab Emirates, France, U.S and Saudi Arabia. The United Kingdom is the most popular destination followed by South Africa, UAE and the US. The most remote bookings were made to hotels in Pakistan from Tanzania, France and U.K but Calgary (Canada) was the farthest of the destinations for the bookings.