Look at any PvP zone, in any MMO. Odds are, it's dead quiet compared to the PvE zones. Why? Because open PvP is 99% some poor sap getting stomped on by an adversary he can't possibly defend himself against. Nobody enjoys being bullied - imagine that. The only traffic in these zones is the handful of people willing to endure said bullying to achieve some PvE goal, and the bullies that hunt them.
There is no middle ground - a zone either allows PvP and is empty, or forbids it and might see some activity depending on what else there is to do there. If you want to add foot traffic to a zone, add missions and PvE objectives that point there. Forcing PvP on people just encourages them to find other zones - or other games - to spend their time.