UN Tourism reported that the global tourism industry recovered to 99% of its pre-covid level in 2024. The Asia Pacific region has recovered 87% of its pre-pandemic level. During the same year, around 1.4 billion tourists travelled internationally which means 140 million more tourists travelled in 2024 compared to 2023 1. This growth shows increased travel demand, lifting up restrictions in some regions, and improved connectivity. While some regions are recovering faster than others, the overall trend shows a strong positive shift for the global tourism sector.
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Challenges Faced by The Tourism Industry
The main challenge to international tourism is higher travel-associated costs. Higher fares, hotel prices, and inflation continue to impact global travel demand. Geopolitical risks also pose a barrier. Regional conflicts, diplomatic tensions, and security concerns influence traveler confidence and destination choices. Although the industry is recovering, these challenges can shape the future trends in the tourism industry.
Tourism Growth in Asia Pacific Region
In terms of the growth, the Asia Pacific region saw the most rising trends in 2024. A record 33% increase was shown as compared to 2023 which is higher than the global average of 11%. This also shows that the region is offering improved connectivity and reopening of travel destinations.
The Rising Trend of Tourism in Pakistan
Pakistan is a low-middle-income group economy but it is well-positioned to tap into the lucrative market of tourism. According to the officials of the FPCCI (Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry), if Pakistan receives one million tourists annually, it could generate up to $2 billion in revenue. 2
In 2024, Pakistan’s tourism revenue grew by 58% as compared to 2023 which is better than Bangladesh.
What Makes Pakistan a Promising Tourist Destination?
Pakistan’s geographical location plays an important role whereby it is nestled between the Middle East, South and Central Asia. A recent trend that has been observed is the increase in the number of domestic tourism where locals have started travelling to unexplored destinations including hill stations and islands/shores.
Pakistan has a diversified landscape that includes deserts, coastal lines and mountains. Recently, SIFC (special investment facilitation council) has proposed investment opportunities in different areas of the country which have been designated as Integrated Tourism Zones (ITZs).3
How to Improve Tourism in Pakistan?
Among important factors that could increase the flow of tourists in the country are air connectivity of Pakistan with more and more countries, security situation and investment on infrastructure. These enablers are important to increase the ranking of Pakistan in travel and tourism development index.
As per the market intelligence reports, Pakistan tourism market is expected to reach around USD 4 billion in 2025. It is estimated that the user penetration in 2025 will touch 11.3%. This increase is expected due to both domestic and international tourism.4
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The tourism industry in Pakistan can be divided into the categories of camping, vacation rentals (private bookings in houses), hotels, and package holidays.
Changing Trends in Travel and Tourism Market
In terms of accommodation preferences, the trend has changed for vacation rentals and hotels in recent years. In pre-covid times, the users preferred hotels over vacation rentals. However, after 2022, the gap between the number of users choosing for vacation rentals and hotels has been shrinking to the extent that in 2023, the number of users choosing vacation rentals over hotels has increased for the first time.
Vacation Rentals Vs Hotels
In 2023, 12.55 million travelers chose private vacation rentals compared to 11.97 million users for hotels. This shows a gap of 0.58 million users. During 2024, 14.24 million chose private rentals for accommodation compared to 13.9 million users who opted for hotels; which shows a gap of 0.64 million users. This trend is attributed to online platforms for booking private rooms and houses on Airbnb, bookings.com and others. Such platforms have transformed the customer journey and global tourism industry.
The global revenue for Airbnb in 2023 was more than USD 9 billion with a growth rate of 18.07%.5 In the Asia Pacific region, a 27% increase has been reported in accommodation bookings. This shows the consumer preference for making accommodation arrangements through digital channels and provides opportunities for B2B and B2C markets.
Another interesting travel behavior is observed in average length of stay by the travelers. The average length of stay has been decreasing each year from 3.23 in 2020 to 3.11 in 2024. However, this change is very little; the digit is still 3 nights-stay.
Pakistan’s Travel & Tourism Development Index
In order to gauge the effectiveness of policies and factors that enable sustainable development of the travel & tourism sector, the World Economic Forum ranks the countries and assigns them a score between 1-7 (best) as per its Travel and Tourism Development Index. As per the 2024 report, Pakistan ranks 101 among 119 economies with the score of 3.41. However, this score has improved slightly compared to previous reporting periods.
Conclusion
The global tourism industry has seen a rising trend in travelling after the covid times. 2024 reports show us a positive trend in Pakistan’s position in the Travel and Tourism Development Index. With this continuing trend, Pakistan tourism market is expected to reach USD 4 billion in 2025. It is estimated that the user penetration will touch 11.3% in 2025. Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) officials have stated that Pakistan has the potential to generate up to $2 billion in revenue, provided it receives one million tourists annually. This influx of tourists can drive growth and support the economy.
Sources
-  https://www.unwto.org/un-tourism-world-tourism-barometer-data ↩︎
- https://tribune.com.pk/story/2523844/tourism-could-generate-2b-revenue ↩︎
- https://www.sifc.gov.pk/IndustryMainPage ↩︎
- https://www.statista.com/outlook/mmo/travel-tourism/pakistan ↩︎
- https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/ABNB/airbnb/revenue ↩︎