Pakistan as a Destination of Religious Tourism

Introduction

Religious tourism is an important part of the tourism industry. It is also called special interest tourism. Religious tourism usually related to the followers of specific faiths who visit sites that are considered holy sites. Religious sites are not only visited by the pilgrims but also visited by non-religious tourists since they have cultural, historical and religious significance. The most niche of the tourism industry is directly affected by economic instability but religious tourism is comparatively less affected by these economic issues because the reason for traveling is very robust and it plays a very important role in people's lives. So, money does not play a very vital role to stop from visiting a destination.

Religious tourism is the pioneering form of tourism which has begun almost with the dawn of humanity. From ancient times, religious destinations were not only a part of the cultural landscape but they also had become a vital factor in local marketing and prime parts of the economy of hosted destinations. Some of the religious places such as Mecca in Saudi Arabia, Fatima in Portugal and Lourdes in France attract millions of religious tourists, charity workers, missionaries and humanitarians creating a huge financial transaction in the destination. Religious tourism, in the literature of tourism, is, often described interchangeably as cultural heritage tourism, cultural tourism, cultural heritage tourism and spiritual tourism by different writers.

It is difficult to give a specific definition of religious tourism and the reason behind it is that cultural and religious travel are used synonymously. This is because the majority of cultural tourists visit religious destinations as a part of their itinerary and are thus referred to as religious tourists. The general meaning of religious tourism implies traveling with the prime motive of experiencing religious activities or the products they induce such as art, culture, traditions, and architecture. Religion and tourism are interlinked with each other. The pioneer form of tourism was in the form of visiting religious pilgrimages such as Christians traveling to Jerusalem and Muslims to Mecca. Religious pilgrimages have always been one of the dominant factors for motivating people to travel. Tracing back to the religious history it is found that major religions have globally stimulated tourism as a foundation for spreading their own religious beliefs.

Globally, Pakistan is very popular for three popular and big religions of the world, namely, Islam, Sikhism, and Buddhism. The Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) identified 480 locations for inbound tourism alone. Among them are 106 historical significance, 120 religions, and 26 religions and history. Additionally, it is likely to attract more religious visitors to Pakistan, including civilians and Buddhists. Recently, Pakistan opened the Central Gurdwara and the temple at Gurdwara Kartarpur Shrine in Punjab (Pakistan). Among the government’s tourism and travel sector priorities, Pakistan ranks 112 out of 132 countries. However, the current government is focusing on this area by taking certain initiatives. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government plans to return more than 3,000 historical artifacts to attract tourists from the region. Moreover, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government recently launched the first mobile travel app to promote tourism in the region. The app includes information based on hotels, restaurants, service stations and roads that also will guide visitors. These initiatives can be promoted in other provinces to attract and encourage tourism. However, tourists find Mosques, Buddhist sits, churches, archeological sites of different civilizations that leave a great impact on each tourist to visit their sacred place in Pakistan.

Therefore, the objectives of this chapter are to highlight the religious tourism opportunities, destinations, and socio-economic development opportunities in Pakistan, and how Pakistan can improve its positive image through religious tourism.