INTERNATIONAL VISITORS TO PAKISTAN

INTERNATIONAL VISITORS TO PAKISTAN

     There are  three main groups:

• Visitors on business
• People visiting families
• Tourists. 

          a)      The international business visitors mainly come to Pakistan from the European countries and US for a number of  reasons, which include:

• To attend Trade delegations,
• For educational activities e.g. some educational institutions have hired foreign staff e.g. principal, teachers,
• As staff of  multinational companies such as oil companies,Foreign banks e.g Citibank , Standard Chartered Bank, Union Bank ,etc . Food Restaurants such as KFC, Macdonald's,
• As UNO officials who are working on a number of projects in Pakistan e.g.WHO (World Health Organization ) is working in  collaboration with the government of Pakistan's Ministry of Health to  fight against Polio and other diseases. The UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) is working in Pakistan in the Afghanistan border areas to provide food, medicines and other facilities to the Afghan refugees who entered Pakistan before and after the war in 2002,
•           As number of Diplomatic delegations from different countries  to discuss political and economic issues and other areas of common interests. 

       
        There are some five star hotels  located in major cities of Pakistan e.g. Marriott Hotels, Pearl Continental Hotels ,Sheraton Hotel , Avari Towers  etc which provide standardized accommodation, a good variety of local and international food, excellent hygienic conditions,  telecommunication facilities and transport to and from the airport.

     b)    Many Pakistanis work abroad mainly in Saudi Arabia , Kuwait,U.A.E, Dubai, U.K , and U.S.A.  They are not tourists but , when on holiday, they come to visit their  families in Pakistan almost every year. They usually stay  with family members and not in hotels.The number of these visitors increased from the mid 80's to 1990  due to the construction activities in oil rich  countries  which required skilled and unskilled workers.After 1990 the demand for this labour force declined  due to the declining pace of construction activity in Middle East countries.In  addition those emigrating  also declined due to the comparatively low salaries offered  offered to the workers. However, during recent years out-migration to USA and Canada has increased resulting in an increasing of visitors  coming to Pakistan from North America.

         c)   Foreign tourists who visit Pakistan only for recreational purposes are few in number. Their number is constantly declining in Pakistan owing to the inadequate level of  security and  mismanagement  of tourist  resorts. However  those who visit Pakistan are mainly high adventure tourists  interested in visiting the northern areas of Pakistan where facilities are available to a limited extent. These tourists like to mix with local people and show a keen interest in local customs , festivals , and souvenirs. The range of accommodation  available for such tourists is different  from that for business travellers . They either stay in  PTDC motels or small  private hotels depending on their affordability . PTDC has some ideal properties in about two dozen mountain and historic places :Kaghan , Swat, Ayubia  Ziarat , Chitral, Hunza, Gilgit, Taxila , Moen-jo-daro,  etc . The motels are clean and comfortable with good restaurants and , at around Rs 2000 a night for two people , they are reasonably priced.