Visit Pakistan 2006, A Slogan?

[Amaad Lone]

2006 VISIT PAKISTAN YEAR

Well atleast it sounds nice.

Is the government planning to change something for this event in 2006.

The immigration at Pakistan takes an hour in long lines, while the "connected" people get their passports stamped ahead of turn.

I remember getting stuck at Karachi with my family, and the immigration officer was the slowest one in Pakistan. In the end we had to change lines. The most efficient workers at the immigration counters are the young women they have hired.

Its only in Pakistan where its own citizens have to get their passport stamped to re-enter their homeland. Does not happen in the EU or the US. Pakistanis returning home from the Middle East are treated like animals waiting in lines almost a mile long.

Why can't Pakistanis re-enter thier country by just showing a valid passport, why the computer entries.

To make 2006 truly VISIT PAKISTAN YEAR, the government should remove visa requirements for all the countries in the world, including India.

Get your 15 day visa at the airport.

The tourism boom will be huge, and I think the traffic from just India will swamp the tourist infrastructure.

Visit Pakistan Year needs to be accompanied by some policy change, otherwise it will just be what it is, A SLOGAN.

[PIAinORD]

Buddy you ever been to America? With my US Passport, its easier for me to get into Pakistan than it is here in the US. I have to have it stamped too, and of course since I'm Pakistani and have been to Pakistan (because 80% of my family lives there ) I get the customary 30 minute interview as well. Immigration is a problem in every country (except Europe, they seem to have it right). Then again you always have the people who will question the safety, etc...

[Falcon598]

Buddy you ever been to America? With my US Passport, its easier for me to get into Pakistan than it is here in the US. I have to have it stamped too, and of course since I'm Pakistani and have been to Pakistan (because 80% of my family lives there ) I get the customary 30 minute interview as well. Immigration is a problem in every country (except Europe, they seem to have it right). Then again you always have the people who will question the safety, etc...

I never get an interview, wierd. Last time I came back from PK it only took about 5-10 min, since the line wasn't that long. You are right about Europe's immigrationit is really good and quite quick too.

[smarties]

Buddy you ever been to America? With my US Passport, its easier for me to get into Pakistan than it is here in the US. I have to have it stamped too, and of course since I'm Pakistani and have been to Pakistan (because 80% of my family lives there ) I get the customary 30 minute interview as well. Immigration is a problem in every country (except Europe, they seem to have it right). Then again you always have the people who will question the safety, etc...

PIAinORD thanx for giving a honest and truthful account of what happens in american immigration. I know so many people who lie and say its fine when they go to america. Infact, a friend of mine told me that immigration is so bad, not only confined to just boys, but girls also. Many of the people i know have had their baggage searched down, looked at their personal photographs, and asked address of the ppl in the photos?! They are asked why have got a Thailand stamp in their passports etc...After all that they miss their onward connection and have to wait hours to get another flight! When i ask these ppl what happens at US immigration they say they are really nice and say *welcome home*! When infact their other friends tell me what happened to them.

[Junaid]

I have experienced US immigration both as an immigrant and non-immigrant. I came to US on F-1 student visa and went in and out of US 5 times. I only had one bad experience at Dallas only because I had a new I-20 and immigration officer did not know how to process that, otherwise no bad experience. They were never friendly but not rude either.

Now as an immigrant I never had a bad experience. I have even encountered some friendly immigration officers.

But I agree europe's immigration is much faster and in some cases more friendly.

[Moin]

I have been to the US several times and never to date ever had a bad experience. And I'm not lying either!

[Aer Pakistan]

same here i agree with moin

[Adnaan786]

One of my friends went to the US with is family not long after 9/11. At the time it was well publicised that they would increase the amount of "random" stop and searches in their airports. They also emphasised that they wouldn't target muslims etc.... My friend had a few stop overs in the states before reaching his destination, and at every airport him and his family were searched. Ok, just a coincidence?!? Well, he was then searched again at every stop on the way back!!

[bagold]

My white colleague was asked at US immigration in Chicago "Why are you travelling on a Zimbabwean passport?". He replied "Because I am Zimbabwean".

[piafan]

Well with new MRP passports. Immigration will be a breeze in Pakistan. These new Passport have Radio Frequency Chip. It will be like waving good-bye to the immigration officer and he will have all your information.

No More lines and No more Pictures...

[bagold]

Getting visas at the Indian High Commission in London is ten times as painful as getting a visa for Pakistan or anywhere else. But the toursim trade for India is much greater. So it is not just a visa issue.

One reason is the common availability of alcohol, for example. But if this is what Pakistan needs to do to attract tourists then I'd rather we didn't. The locals of Goa are not happy at all on the impact of tourism. They gain little from it but suffer greatly from it.

If Pakistan is interested in attracting tourists then we should go for a market that will appreciate our culture for what it is. By all means we should try and make getting visas easier or issue at the port of entry.

[piafan]

Egypt's economy depends on tourism and they are doing quite well. Same holds for Dubai. Dubai is targetting 15 million visitor per annum by 2010.

[PIAinORD]

I have been to the US several times and never to date ever had a bad experience. And I'm not lying either!

Yeah but when your 20 years old and have been to 8 countries in under 2 years they get suspicious (or that I like to travel a lot? ).

Anyway, if Pakistan really wants to draw tourism, the visa thing is big. But they also need foreign investment for hotels, etc. If you really want to draw tourists you need places for foreigners to stay. Moreover, they need to do a better job of regulating taxi/rickshaw-drivers like having all of them register with a central bureau and each having a id number and there being a phone number you can call about bad service (it might also stop the number of kidnappings too). Finally they need to advertise what there is to do and see in Pakistan. Something like the Air Safari is something people from all of the world would want to come and see. I know I would love to go on that. So lets see how they market this.

[Che]

I travelled with family, five people, all US citizens from US to Pakistan and back, six months after 9/11.....Lets just say it was really humiliating, every time we tried to approach the counter, the freakin attendant would make a stupid excuse that their systems were down, so it was taking so long to process your ticket, when in reality they were doing security checks.....And then the most humiliating part was getting the local police to come interview only our party at the check-in.....

[piafan]

How can Pakistan attract foriegners when our policy is to expel foriegner's who have come far from home to learn and study.

It is a fallacy trying to increase tourism..