Religious Tourism Backing for Economic Salvation: A Study of Kartarpur Corridor between Pakistan and India

Abstract

Religious tourism is earliest growing industry for the economic development in a state. Many countries in the world are promoting religious tourism and getting economic befits from it. Pakistan is famous for its ancient religious sites across the world. In the last few decades the tourism industry was unattended in country due to instability in policies and planning. The new era begins with the new democratic spell in the country and the PTI government has visualized tourism as a multi-sectoral industry for promotion of peace and economic liberation. The Kartarpur corridor inauguration is a major step towards new horizons for peace, and prosperity in the region. The Sikhs are a religious community in the world with their separate and unique culture and religious customs. The corridor opened up for the Sikhs to perform their religious duties on November 9, 2019.The present research paper is an attempt to highlight the economic contribution and significance of the corridor in Pakistan. It is recommended that more efforts to flourish religious tourism for economic salvation in Pakistan should be made with public-private partnerships within and across the border.