By: Maemuna Sadaf
Pakistan enjoys ethnical diversity. It has a number of unique historical religious sites of Sufi Shrines, Hindu Temples, Gurdawaras and Buddhist monasteries. British Backpacker Society ranked Pakistan as the world’s top adventure travel destination while Forbes ranked Pakistan’s tourism sites as “Coolest Places” to visit in 2019.
Kartarpur Corridor connects Darbar Sahab Kartarpur Pakistan with Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur. The opening of the Kartarpur corridor and other religious sites will bring religious tourism in the country. The Sikh population across the world is around 27 million which is 0.39% of the world population. Around 12,000 pilgrims visited Kartarpur Sahib on 09 November 2019 to celebrate the 550th Birthday of Baba Guru Nanak Sahib. 5,000 pilgrims are allowed to visit Kartarpur daily. The facilitation fee for the pilgrim is 20 US $. Therefore, from this only site, Pakistan will earn 100000 US $ daily.
Pakistan will gain an aggregate income of 4 to 5 billion US dollars.If this site opened forthe common public and terrorist it will add a handsome increase to the country’s GDP. Indeed, Pakistan has captured two-fifth of the Sikh population who visit Pakistan to perform their religious rituals. A recent World Bank Survey reported that if proper facilities are provided, Pakistan can yield up to the US $300 million from religious tourism. It is also estimated that an average US $2700 per head will be generated in ten days. With the help of security agencies, Law and order situation is now feasible to attract tourism. Pakistan can increase its earning by promoting religious tourism.