By Irfan Ahmed ISLAMABAD, Mar 01 (INP-WealthPK): Digital technology is playing an important role in tourism development around the globe, and now searching for the desired destination on a cellphone is much easier and faster than visiting multiple travel agencies. Now from the comfort of home without bothering to go out wasting time and fuel, one can get a plethora of information about the best tourist spots by surfing the internet and choose the desired hotel, motel, boatel or rest house by scrolling the online reviews. While increased digitization has helped the global tourism industry to thrive and to expand, bringing trillions of dollars to the state coffers, Pakistan has yet to benefit from this phenomenon, causing it to lag far behind its competitors, especially those in the region. Pakistan’s tourism industry, therefore, needs to embrace the change that comes with digital transformation and quickly catch up with the trend by re-examining its business model, reviewing the structure and company management model and investing more in technology. Speaking with INP-WealthPk, Manager Strategy at the Universal Service Fund (UFC) Tania Sufi said Pakistan’s technology sector had grown significantly in recent years and was well-positioned for further growth. Digital technologies have enabled tourism operators to gain valuable insights into the customer journey and create a seamless and improved customer experience. “In 2022, our major focus is on providing technology to tourists in tourism areas, such as our partnership with Ufone and Jazz to improve internet services in Gwadar and our collaboration with the Special Communications Organization (SCO) to improve broadband connectivity in tourist areas of Gilgit Baltistan,” Tania said. “We're already installing optical fiber along the highways to offer internet connectivity to remote regions. Our goal is to provide not just internet connectivity, but also opportunities for SMEs in remote places by teaching IT skills with the support of worldwide partners such as Facebook to utilize software applications like Easy Paisa, Jazz Cash, and others, which will assist tourists while also boosting SMEs in these areas. Many nations like Nepal, Malaysia, Turkey, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates have benefited from tourism's digital revolution. Tourists are easily drawn to these places where the state provides digital services such as artificial intelligence (AI), internet connectivity (IoT), online transaction systems, etc. Digitalization is also bringing extraordinary opportunities for small and mid-sized tourism enterprises to access new markets, develop new tourism products and services, adopt new business models and processes, upgrade their position in global tourism value chains and integrate into digital ecosystems. Modern technologies have the potential to generate economic activities in the highly globalized tourism sector. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council's 2021 report, tourism contributed $15 billion to Pakistan's GDP in 2019-20, accounting for 5.7 % of the country's overall GDP. In 2020-21 when the pandemic hit the world, the total contribution to the country's GDP decreased to 4.4% or $11.58 billion, and the sector also cut down a large number of employments.

Source: World Travel & Tourism Council

An official of Gilgit-Baltistan tourism department told INP-WealthPk, "We introduced QR Code Technology to assist tourists in searching for the destination information. Tourists just need to turn on the application and use their phone to scan the QR code affixed to tourist destinations. The phone screen will display detailed information about the tourist attractions in Danang city.” "We have already installed 4G broadband towers at the base camp of K2 Mountain and Khunjerab Pass to promote tourism in GB. From May to August 2021, we generated Rs70 million from GB alone." Promotion of tourism will not only create economic activity in the local areas, but also have a positive impact on the national economy. Both federal and provincial governments must take extraordinary strategies to further improve the digitalization of tourism and make it more attractive, especially for foreign tourists to earn valuable foreign exchange while rebranding Pakistan on the world stage. In a nutshell, the tourism sector of Pakistan needs to fully embrace the modern technology to fully benefit from a wealth of opportunities. The policymakers have an important role to play in helping tourism businesses of all sizes to engage with the digital revolution across Pakistan.