Pakistan is placed second last in the list of ‘world’s most reputable country’, by the US-based data and insight company, the Repute Institute. Pakistan is just above Iran that is last in the list and below Saudi Arabia. The Repute Institute has overall classed 54 countries in the rankings.
The country’s position in the ranks has been determined by tourism, the economy, people’s behavior, exports, and investment. While Pakistan is at the 53rd spot, India is at 37th spot.
Nicolas Georges Trad, chief operating officer at the Reputation Institute said that: “Reputation determines whether people support a country through their behaviors. A good reputation means more exports, more investments, more people coming to visit.”
Pakistan 🇵🇰 Second-Last in World’s Most Reputable Countries’ List pic.twitter.com/chp1ZZypff
— BleedGreen.pk (@bleedgreenarmy) December 12, 2019
Pakistan’s ranking as the second-last reputable country is repugnant to substantial progress made by Pakistan to reinvigorate its image. Given the recent visit of royal dignitaries, from Britain, Jordan and Netherlands along with rigorous efforts to bolster tourism in the country, does Pakistan merits to be determined the least reputable country in the world?
Ironically, the data for the rankings have been collected from the surveys in the G8 nations, since according to Trad ‘it gives a proxy for the opinion of the population of the world’.
Read more: Beautiful Pakistan: Classed as top travelling destination for 2020
Hence, in the view of the above statement of Nicolas Trad, the position of Pakistan in the list amounts to humongous efforts required for Pakistan to bring an overhaul change in its ‘reputation’ globally. Perhaps, the current progress has failed to be assimilated among the global populations.
The rankings also press the significance of image building and branding of the country. A country’s strong and positive image can stimulate a ripple effect on the prosperity of the country.
Pakistan’s recent progress
Meanwhile, Pakistan has made significant progress in two years, particularly in the expansion of tourism. The influx of foreigners has ramped up in Pakistan in the past few months.
The visit of the Sri Lankan cricket team for a formal cricket series marked the return of international cricket after more than a decade. The international cricket suspended in Pakistan following the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore in 2007.
The incident dipped Pakistan’s image globally. Pakistan continued to be branded as an unsafe and terrorist country for many years to come. However, Sri Lanka deserves credit for trusting and accepting PCB’s request to send the team for a home series in Pakistan.
Duke and Duchess of Cambridge witnessed traditional dance of Kalash tribe in Chitral, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Royal visit has enabled Northern areas of Pakistan to be highlighted for its tourism potential on global media channels; this will boost International Tourism in Pakistan🇵🇰 pic.twitter.com/UYaiztfOVg
— PTI (@PTIofficial) October 19, 2019
Earlier, Zimbabwe made a low-key tour to Pakistan in 2015. Following Sri Lanka’s tour, came the maiden visit of the royal couple, Kate Middleton and Prince William in October.
Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton has described the royal tour to Pakistan, ‘really special’ in a rare interview with CNN in Lahore. The five-day tour has enabled the royal to see a lot of the country.
The Princess in her interview, cherished visiting the country’s unique landscape in Chitral and engaging in community activities during her visit. “It was amazing seeing some of the geographies yesterday, but then to see some of the community activities today has been really special,” the duchess said.
With the royal tour came the heavy international media coverage that partially absolved Pakistan from negative perception.
Read more: Kate Middleton Considers Tour to Pakistan ‘Really Special’
A lot is happening at the tourism front in Pakistan; several international travel bloggers toured Pakistan, disseminating the positive ‘word of mouth’ for Pakistan through their social media profiles.
Pakistan has been classed as the top traveling destination for 2020 by Travel Company Wild Frontiers.
For the past couple of months, the international media is raving for the country’s potential for tourism. A couple of international media reports had declared Pakistan the best tourist destination for 2019. The recent reports hint that Pakistan will continue to be branded as the top tourist destination for 2020 as well.