Digital intervention in culture, tourism
PESHAWAR
Advisor to Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tourism, Culture, Archaeology and Museums Zahid Chanzeb on Saturday gave away certificates to university students in an elegant ceremony who completed semester projects on tourism, travel, hotel hospitality, and other sectors of tourism industry involving the latest technology interventions.
This project is part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture and Tourism Authority (KPCTA) and various universities aimed at bridging the gap between the tourism industry and academia, with the basic aim to encouraging creativity and research activities in this crucial sector.
Zahid Chanzeb greatly appreciated the unwavering dedication and hard work of the students.
As a gesture of encouragement, he also awarded them cash prizes from his own pocket to bolster their research capabilities, enthusiasm, and morale.
He reiterated his firm support for such joint collaborative endeavors, emphasizing the need for more such vital projects and promoting partnerships to advance tourism and cultural initiatives in the province.
Acknowledging the pivotal role of technology in transforming travel, tourism and hospitality, Zahid Chanzeb said that KPCTA has rightly engaged itself in collaborations with various academic institutions to bridge the gap between industry and academia that, he said, is also a need of the hour.
Advisor Tourism reiterated the firm commitment of the PTI-led provincial government to promote tourism as an industry in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in its true essence.
He asked KPCTA to continue developing and advancing the tourism and cultural sectors on war footings.
He expressed confidence that collaboration with Pakistan’s top academic institutions can enhance tourism standards, increase cultural awareness, and introduce modernization across this innovative industry to attract maximum domestic and foreign tourism into this province that is soon becoming a cradle of peace and tranquility being the basic need for the purpose, he added.
He said promoting tourism and cultural activities would ultimately result into strengthening economy of the province and increasing employment opportunities amongst our jobless people as, he said, this is also a respectable cash earning industry for the educated youth.
“The innovative and strategic partnership between tourism department and universities not only links academia with the tourism industry but also facilitates the use of advanced scientific trends and techniques to promote and preserve the rich cultural and recreational heritage of the province,” he maintained.
He recalled that the research works cherished by these students often appeared on different social media platforms and published in research journals, periodicals, which, he asserted, could prove more beneficial than the solitary endeavors of the tourism department with its limited resources for promoting culture and tourism in the province.
He also emphasized the need to involve and engage maximum educational institutions in these joint research programs and upgrade such vital courses to higher studies and degrees levels.
