Pakistan ranked 113 out of 130 countries in Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2009 released by World Economic Forum on Wednesday. Last year Pakistan ranked 111 out of 124 countries, so in reality Pakistan’s ranking remains stagnant, report mentioned.
Country’s low ranking in the index underlined its frail travel and tourism regulatory framework, low prioritisation of the travel and tourism industry by the government, low effectiveness of marketing and branding and a constricted tourism perception.
Some of the other competitive disadvantages for Pakistan include a poor tourism infrastructure such as hotel rooms (119 compared to 110 last year); available ATMs accepting visa cards (111 compared to 110 last year) and the prevailing security situation (132 compared to 106 last year).
Further indications that all is not well with Pakistan’s tourism and travel industry can be highlighted by the fact that last year, despite many competitive disadvantages, Pakistan ranked 40th for air travel and 39th in ground transport structure, but slipped to 99th and 73rd this year respectively.
The report provides a cross-country analysis of the drivers of competitiveness in travel and tourism, providing useful comparative information for making business decisions and additional value to governments wishing to improve their travel and tourism environments.
On the flip side, Pakistan ranked well in price competitiveness in the industry mainly because of low fuel prices (36) purchasing power parity (13) and the extent of effect of taxation (42). Pakistan also ranked well in the number of heritage and cultural sites (33) and creative industries exports (27).
Pakistan will, however, continue to need to focus on the sustainability of its natural environment, WEF pointed out. According to this year’s Travel and Tourism Report, Switzerland, Austria and Germany retained their top rankings respectively, further consolidating the fact that they have the most attractive environments for developing the travel and tourism industry.
France jumped six places to 4th and Canada went from 9th to 5th. Singapore was Asia’s top destination, ranking 10th. In the Middle East and Africa, the United Arab Emirates ranked first in the region and 33rd in the world overall, up seven places from last year. India ranked 11th in the Asian region and 62nd in the world overall.
The data for the Pakistan has been prepared through a combination of data from publicly available sources, international travel and tourism institutions and experts as well as results of the Executive Opinion Survey 2008 which was carried out by the Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF), the WEF’s partner institution in Pakistan.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF), Arthur Bayhan, said CSF was deeply engaged in issues of competitiveness and is working with the public and private sectors as well as the academia in Pakistan to improve the global competitiveness ranking of the country.