ISLAMABAD: The Travel and Tourism Symposium jointly organised by Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation with the support of World Bank Group and other partner organisations concluded here the other day. During the concluding ceremony of the Symposium themed “Building National Economy through Tourism”, Chairman Prime Minister’s Youth Programme Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan participated as a special guest.
The two-day event was attended by large number of stakeholders including more than 400 national and international tourism experts, professionals and decision-makers for the sustainable development of the tourism industry and development of a future roadmap for tourism in Pakistan.
On the second day of the symposium, the provincial tourism departments informed the participants about the tourism destinations in their provinces and the investment opportunities.
Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan said in his address that he will put all the suggestions given by the participants and stakeholders of the conference before the Prime Minister so that the problems faced in the tourism sector can be solved urgently. He assured that the government of Pakistan will use all its resources to promote tourism and in this regard, in the coming days, the government is bringing two pilot projects for the promotion of tourism, including double-decker buses for Islamabad and setting up an eco-friendly tourist village in Islamabad.
He especially thanked all the foreign delegates and investors who participated in the conference and congratulated MD PTDC and his team for organising such a successful conference.
In his closing address, Managing Director of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation, Aftab Ur Rehman Rana said that the tourism is a complex industry and it needs support of various stakeholders to develop quality tourism products. The purpose of the event was to bring together tourism stakeholders to benefit from each other’s experiences and development a joint strategy.
He said that such type of conference was held in Pakistan 20 years ago. Aftab Ur Rehman Rana said that the recommendations coming out in the symposium will be shared with the relevant forums.
He added that in this symposium it was agreed that the establishment of a full-fledged ministry regarding tourism in Pakistan is the need of the hour. The representative of World Bank, Kiran Afzal also addressed the event and thanked all the participants on behalf of Country Director of World Bank Group Pakistan, while at the end of the event, the guests were presented with souvenirs. The symposium also featured eight different panel discussions on different topics. In which proposals and road maps were compiled for the promotion of tourism at various levels and for introducing Pakistan’s tourist destinations and opportunities to the world.
