PESHAWAR: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Zulfikar Bukhari Thursday called for the promotion of tourism as a brand, saying that Pakistan was declared as “best tourist destination for 2020”.
He said it was a great achievement that 2019 was the safest year for Pakistan and for the reason the country was declared as “ best tourist destination for 2020” adding it was a great achievement in terms of security.
He said in order to take advantage of this, Pakistan needs to have a brand for tourism. Pakistan is also hosting two major international tourism events in next two years, he informed an online dialogue on “Opportunities in Tourism Sector in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Future Promotion Strategies in a Post COVID-19 Scenario” as a key note speaker.
He said investment board has the biggest role to play to get the province ready to grab such upcoming opportunities in tourism sector.
The session was moderated by Hassan Daud Butt, CEO KP-Board of Investment and Trade. Other speakers of the session were, Abid Majeed, Secretary, Sports, Culture and Tourism, Junaid Khan, Managing Director Tourism Corporation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Additional Secretary Tourism Department, Kiran Afzal, Senior Private Sector Specialist, World Bank Group, Koh King Kee, President, Centre for New Inclusive Asia, Malaysia, Dr Farrah Arif, Founder and CEO, EDTech Worx, Professor Song Zhihui, Sichuan University, China and Saadia Baber, CEO and Founder, Xperience Pakistan.
Hassan Daud started the session by giving a brief overview of tourism sector and the priorities and initiatives taken by the government of KP in this sector.
He told the speakers and participants that the government is working on policies to attract and facilitate tourists’ post COVID-19.
He also acknowledged the contributions of donors, specially World Bank Group who are supporting KP government to promote tourism and make KP a tourism friendly province.
Speaking on the occasion, Secretary Tourism Abid Majid appreciated the support of federal government and especially Zulfi Bukhari extended to KP in tourism sector.
He said the government is very keen to promote Tourism. Opening up of new rest houses is in progress to facilitate visitors with good quality of accommodation.
He said tourism facilitation centers are being set up at different locations for facilitation adding the government is also embarking on training for hospitality sector and tour operators following the SoPs.
Junaid Khan said tourism is the top priority of KP government and it is working to promote tourism through better infrastructure and access the scenic tourist resort.
He said Rs6 billion is allocated to build infrastructure in Malakand and Hazara Division and Rs3 billion is allocated to build roads in Sheikh Badin area in DI Khan district.
He also said food tourism is another area on which the government is working. Junaid said he believes in the synergy of tourism with culture, archaeology and Gandhara civilization.
Kiran Afzal gave a precise presentation on Trends in Tourism and also highlighted that keeping in view the COVID situation; the reopening of sectors should be phased and regulated.
She also stated that a key area where KPBOIT can play an active role is Public Private Partnership (PPP) for investment in tourism sector.
She also told the participants that work has been done by the World Bank funded project KP integrated tourism development ((KITE) project and ERKP for tourist facilitation which includes installation of tourist carts and road and snow clearing machines in Galiyat, Waste management equipment in Galiyat, Naran and Kalam (garbage compactor) and installation of signboards in 4 districts at road side and archaeological sites.
Similarly, speaking on the occasion, Koh, Professor Song, Dr Farrah and Saadia shared their deep insight on how international tourists can be attracted and what facilities needs to be provided in order to do so. They also shared few global practices to promote tourism in KP.
Hassan Daud in his closing remarks maintained that the session was very fruitful and rewarding and KPBOIT will have a series of such sessions in the future as well.
He thanked all the speakers and requested them to be KPBOIT’S ambassadors of change to make the province a preferred destination for investment.

Newspakistan.tv | YouTube Channel