WORLD TOURISM DAY 2026 Message by Shakir Abu Bakar Bhura Chairman, Pakistan Hotels Association (PHA) On behalf of the Executive Committee and members of the Pakistan Hotels Association (PHA), I extend my warmest greetings and best wishes to the entire travel, tourism and hospitality community on World Tourism Day 2026. This year’s focus on “Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence to Redesign Tourism†highlights the remarkable transformation taking place across the global tourism landscape. Digital technology and Artificial Intelligence are changing how travelers search for destinations, make reservations, select hotels, plan their itineraries and engage with tourism services. For Pakistan, embracing these developments presents an important opportunity to modernize our tourism and hospitality sector and make it more competitive, accessible and visitor-friendly. The hospitality industry has a particularly important role to play in this transformation. Hotels and tourism businesses can benefit from digital platforms, smart booking systems, personalized guest services, data-driven decision-making and AI-powered solutions. These technologies can improve operational efficiency while enabling businesses to better understand and respond to the evolving expectations of domestic and international travelers. At the same time, technology should complement Pakistan’s rich cultural heritage, natural landscapes and renowned hospitality. Our objective should be to use innovation to showcase these strengths more effectively to the world and create seamless experiences for visitors. Tourism is not only an important contributor to economic development and employment; it also promotes cultural understanding, people-to-people contact and international cooperation. Pakistan possesses immense potential, and a coordinated approach involving government, the private sector and tourism stakeholders can help unlock new opportunities. I also appreciate Holiday Weekly for its continued and dedicated efforts to highlight Pakistan’s tourism and hospitality industry and provide a valuable platform for promoting the sector. On this World Tourism Day, let us embrace innovation, encourage responsible tourism and work collectively towards a more modern, sustainable and globally connected tourism industry in Pakistan.
