Tourism alone could have bridged current account deficit: PM Khan

LAHORE: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that while other countries earned billions of dollars from tourism alone, Pakistan had in past neglected its cultural heritage, ARY News reported.

Addressing a ceremony at Lahore Fort, the prime minister said that the rulers in past “cared about nothing” and tourism industry in Pakistan was in tatters.

“No action was taken to preserve the historical and cultural heritage that we have; we could have paid off foreign debts with tourism alone”, he claimed.

Read More: Pakistan to soon become self-sufficient in vehicle production: PM Khan

“Our biggest problem right now is the current account deficit of $19 billion. Turkey, on the other hand, earns $40 billion from tourism”, said the prime minister.

“Because of this current account deficit, we have to go to lending institutions time and again, but this wouldn’t be the case had we promoted tourism at home”, PM Khan said.

PM Khan said that Pakistan’s northern areas were ‘the most suitable’ for tourism and were “beautiful than even Switzerland”.

He said that the government had decided to preserve the cultural heritage and it was working for promotion of tourism so people from around the world would come and admire the beauty and culture Pakistan has to offer.