Pakistanis spent $2.4 billion on outbound travel in a year, report says

Pakistan earned $1.15 billion from foreign tourists in 2024, while its citizens spent around $2.4 billion on outbound travel, showing a foreign exchange gap in the country’s tourism account, the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) said in its report, titled Mapping Pakistan’s Tourism Potential: A Comprehensive Export Analysis. 

The report said tourism could become a major source of export revenue and employment if policy, infrastructure and regulatory gaps are addressed.

According to the report, tourism contributes nearly 5.9 per cent to Pakistan’s gross domestic product and supports around 4.7 million jobs. However, tourism exports accounted for only 2.9 per cent of total exports and 14 per cent of services exports in 2024.

Pakistan attracted around 2.1 million inbound tourists in 2024. The United Kingdom was the largest source market, accounting for 36 per cent of international arrivals, followed by the United States, Canada and Australia.

The report said Pakistan has more than 335 tourism destinations across adventure, religious, historical, educational, sports and business tourism categories. Adventure tourism accounted for 45 per cent of tourism activity, followed by historical tourism at 22 per cent and religious tourism at 11 per cent.

Despite these assets, Pakistan ranked 101st on the Travel and Tourism Development Index in 2024, behind India at 39th and the United Arab Emirates at 18th.

The FPCCI report identified visa complexities, weak international marketing, poor road infrastructure, limited digital connectivity, security concerns and fragmented governance as key barriers to tourism growth.

Former Managing Director of the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation, Salman Javed, said Pakistan’s tourism potential could be realised by easing regulatory hurdles, improving visa facilitation, strengthening international promotion and creating a more coordinated governance framework.

He said foreign visitors require faster and simpler electronic visa processing, while delays and complicated procedures discourage potential tourists.

The report said religious tourism remains a major opportunity. Pakistan hosts important Buddhist heritage sites as well as Sikh and Hindu religious destinations.

The Kartarpur Corridor attracted more than 45,000 Indian pilgrims in 2025, while Sikh yatrees from the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States continued to visit religious sites across Pakistan.

The report projected that Pakistan’s tourism receipts could rise to nearly $1.5 billion by 2030 under current growth trends. It said higher earnings would be possible if reforms are made in visa facilitation, infrastructure development, destination management and international marketing.