How to Promote Tourism? By IA Hashmi

 

The total annual volume of the tourism industry at the international level is more than 9 trillion dollars, which constitutes 10 to 11 percent of the total GDP of the United Nations. However, Pakistan's share in this global tourism industry is less than 0.05%. Here it is worth mentioning that Pakistan is one of the few countries in the world which nature has blessed with many recreational places and seasons. In such a situation, it becomes the duty of the government to include the development and promotion of this important sector in its priorities. In this regard, the government has taken various steps in recent years, in which the establishment of a company called Green Tourism Pakistan in collaboration with the government and the Pakistan Army is an important step. All credit goes to Pak Army for implementing this idea in a speedy manner. According to the details revealed so far, the company will initially set up 150 hotels at tourist destinations to provide world-class facilities to tourists. About ~15 to 20 hotels have been completed in this regard and are expected to be launched soon. The existing hotels under the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation are also going to be re-launched by renovating them under their management. Most of these hotels are located in very important tourist spots but their design, interior decoration and above all the quality of service delivery was not what it should have been. The Green Tourism Company has now not only redesigned these hotels with the help and consultation of world-class organizations, but their management and service delivery standards have also been aligned with world-class standards. Professional staff and management have been hired in this regard.

While this initiative will help promote international tourism in Pakistan, better services and facilities will also be available to local tourists. Earlier, PTDC was not able to maintain the standard in promoting tourism and providing world class facilities to tourists which is required now. In such a situation, the establishment of a new company named Green Tourism Pakistan has proved to be a breath of fresh air in the sector, which will also help improve the quality of the already existing local hotel industry at tourist destinations. In this regard, various joint ventures are also being worked on to provide local partnership and investment opportunities which can hopefully improve the quality of business and service delivery of Pakistan's tourism industry.

In this way, not only the local tourists visiting the northern regions from all over the country will have the environment that they have experienced during the tourism of other countries, but also the number of tourists coming from abroad in the field of religious tourism. There will be a significant increase immediately, providing the country with a new and permanent source of valuable foreign exchange. Earlier, in my previous column on the subject of religious tourism, I have mentioned that the Sikh community is not only interested in visiting Pakistan for pilgrimages to their religious places, but they are also interested in providing facilities for the tourism of these religious places. Also wants to invest for availability. In this regard, whenever there is a meeting with the influential persons of the Sikh community and important business persons, they must express their interest in this regard. This shows that we have a lot of opportunities for growth and investment in this sector.

However, for this it is necessary to first ensure the issuance of visas on priority basis to the Sikh community coming from abroad for the purpose of religious tourism. Besides, there are some religious places of Sikh community in Peshawar and other cities where their access is not possible. If the Sikh community is contacted at the government level in this regard and the access or transportation to these religious places is also made easier, it will send a good message to them. It is noteworthy in this regard that the Sikh community living abroad is ready for all kinds of support from the government for the restoration and renovation of their religious places. In this regard, there is a need to formulate a policy in consultation with the government and the Pakistan Army to facilitate the issuance of visas to non-resident Indians, Sikhs and Hindus, at least in the first phase. can be done For this, apart from providing online visa facility like other countries, tourism companies serving Hajj and Umrah groups in Saudi Arabia can be given the responsibility of providing Sikh and Hindu pilgrims in Pakistan. Make pilgrimages to their religious places. These companies can easily handle the entire process of Sikh and Hindu pilgrims coming from abroad from staying at hotels to arranging their transportation to religious places and back as per the government guidelines. While this will reduce the burden on the administrative machinery of the government, it will also promote the tourism industry locally and create new opportunities for investment and employment in this sector.