According to a report on Cultural Heritage and Museum Visits In Pakistan published by Gallup Pakistan, the number of foreigners visiting cultural sites and museums in Pakistan has registered a huge increase of 121 percent.
The report states that the number of foreign visitors to cultural sites was 45,419 in 2018, a number that was 20,461 in 2014.
The report stated that the highest increase in the number of foreigners visiting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which was 250 percent. Moreover, the total visits to cultural sites by both local and foreign tourists numbered 6.6 million.
With regards to museum visits, 2.7 million visits were recorded in 2018 as opposed to 1.7 million in 2014.
The most popular museums of Pakistan from 2016-2018 were Pakistan Monument Museum in Islamabad, Khewra Mines Museum in Chakwal and Lok Virsa Heritage Museum. These were followed by Taxila Museum and Lahore Museum.
With regard to cultural sites, the Shahi Qila in Lahore was the most visited place between 2016-2018, followed by the Shalimar Gardens. Last year, the former received 5 million visits.
Among museums, the Lahore museum was the most popular among foreigners in 2016 and 2017. Its position was taken by the Taxila museum in 2018.
Among cultural sites, Taxila was the most popular site from 2016-2018, followed by Shahi Qila in the same period. The third most popular site in 2016 was Mohenjodaro. In 2017, it was Jahangir’s tomb and in 2018, it was Shalimar Gardens.
The report shows that perceptions about Pakistan being a volatile place is changing among foreigners. According to the World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index, Pakistan ranks at the 56th position for cultural resources and business travel.