our correspondent
\nPESHAWAR
\nSpecial Assistant to Prime Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Zulfikar Bukhari Thursday called for promotion of tourism as a brand, saying that Pakistan was declared as \u201cbest tourist destination for 2020\u201d.
\nHe said it was a great achievement that 2019 was the safest year for Pakistan and for the reason the country was declared as \u201cBest Tourist Destination for 2020\u201d which, he added was a great achievement in terms of security.
\nHe 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 is next two years, he informed an online dialogue on \u201cOpportunities in Tourism Sector in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Future Promotion Strategies in a post COVID-19 Scenario\u201d as a key note speaker of the webinar.
\nHe said investment board has the biggest role to play to get the province ready to grab such upcoming opportunities in tourism sector.
\nThe 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, GoKP, Junaid Khan, Managing Director Tourism Corporation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Additional Secretary Tourism Department, GoKP, 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.
\nHassan 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.
\nHe told the speakers and participants that Government is working on policies to attract and facilitate tourists\u2019 post COVID. 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.
\nSpeaking on the occasion, Secretary Tourism Abid Majid appreciated the support of Federal Government and especially Zulfi Bukhari extended to KP in Tourism Sector.
\nHe said that Government is very keen to promote Tourism. Opening up of new rest houses is in progress to facilitate visitors with good quality of accommodation.
\nHe 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.
\nJunaid Khan stated that tourism is the top priority of KP Government and KP Government is working to promote tourism through better infrastructure and access the scenic tourist resort.
\nHe said Rs. 6 billion is allocated to build infrastructure in Malakand and Hazara Division and Rs. 3 billion is allocated to build roads in Sheikh Badin area in DI Khan district.
\nHe also stated that food tourism is another area on which the Government is working. Junaid stated that he believes in the synergy of tourism with culture, archaeology and Gandhara civilization.
\nKiran 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.
\nShe also stated that a key area where KPBOIT can play an active role is Public Private Partnership (PPP) for investment in tourism sector.
\nShe 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.
\nSimilarly, speaking on the occasion, Mr. Koh, Professor Song, Dr. Farrah and Miss 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.
\nHassan 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\u2019S ambassadors of change to make the province a preferred destination for investment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
our correspondent PESHAWAR Special Assistant to Prime Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Zulfikar Bukhari Thursday called for promotion of tourism as a brand, saying that Pakistan was declared as \u201cbest tourist destination for 2020\u201d. He said it was a great achievement that 2019 was the safest year for Pakistan and for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-136051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-peshawar"],"yoast_head":"\n