The Impact of the 18th Constitutional Amendment on Tourism Development in Pakistan during 2010–2022

Abstract

The 18th Constitutional Amendment of 2010 fundamentally altered Pakistan’s federal structure by abolishing the Concurrent Legislative List and transferring a substantial range of responsibilities to the provinces. Tourism was consequently transformed from a predominantly centralized policy field into a more decentralized system of provincial governance. This study examines how this constitutional change shaped tourism development in Pakistan during 2010–2022. It uses qualitative documentary analysis of constitutional provisions, government and provincial policy documents, official tourism statistics, institutional reports, academic studies, and development-sector material. The analysis compares Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Balochistan and evaluates domestic tourism, international tourism, infrastructure, public-private partnerships, cultural heritage, digital promotion, economic effects, environmental sustainability, and security. The evidence indicates that devolution created greater space for province-specific policy innovation and destination development, but outcomes remained uneven. Punjab developed a formal provincial tourism policy in 2019 and expanded tourism regulation and destination initiatives, while Gilgit-Baltistan recorded domestic tourist arrivals rising from 28,893 in 2012 to 1,391,628 in 2018 before falling during the COVID-19 period. Pakistan’s international arrivals also fell sharply during the pandemic, from 3.58 million in 2019 to 0.16 million in 2020, demonstrating the importance of external factors alongside institutional reform. The study argues that the 18th Amendment was transformative but not sufficient by itself: institutional capacity, infrastructure, security, investment, environmental management, data systems, and intergovernmental coordination determined how effectively devolved authority translated into tourism development.