The global tourism industry is earning billions of dollars through digital platforms, and Pakistan can also make billions through smart online presence, reasonable promotional efforts, and attractive packages. Managing Director of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) Aftab-ur-Rahman Rana said this while talking to WealthPK about the importance of digital tourism.“The stunning sights of Pakistan can be of great support to frame virtual tours. During the days of the COVID-19 pandemic, several countries opted for this practice earing huge revenues. They designed virtual tours of their worth-seeing sights, cultural heritage, and other traditional sagas. With the use of special goggles, the spectacular scene seemed real to the viewer. It also helped these countries disseminate their friendly image to the world. It is a wonderful tool for the disabled people or for those who can’t travel long distances,” he said.

Continuing, he said, “Access to the whole world now is just a click away. Digital technology has changed the traditional ways of traveling, destination access, information, ticketing, visa processing, arrangement of traveling means, hotel bookings, etc. Social media platforms are playing an active role in cutting short distances and updates concerning each and every walk of life. It is time to change for Pakistan as well.” “The worldwide tourism departments have mostly shifted to digital suits concerning the tourism operational jobs, i.e., maintenance of tourist records, tourist footfall monitoring (when the flow is high or low, mostly visited places, common interests, problems), etc. All these things are managed through the digital technology and help break the bottlenecks for better itineraries and travel facilities.

“So, all the things that are due to access to the technology have been introduced recently, and they all have changed the dimensions of tourism. In the coming years, the use of digital technologies will increase and help a lot in promoting this industry. “It is important for us to adopt digital technology. We have to benefit from these technologies to promote tourism in a nice manner. The PTDC has also introduced e-portals to access information concerning the tourist sites in the country and gradually all the necessary information and other access nooks will be digitized,” added Aftab-ur-Rahman.

The market size of digital tourism is expected to grow from $400 billion in 2022 to $1,1618 billion by 2032 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15%. To win its share of the digital travel and tour market, Pakistan needs to reframe smart tourism policies so that total virtual transformation may not affect sustainable tourism for the communities relying on the income earned through the tourism industry.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)