PESHAWAR: To mark the World Tourism Day, Tourism Corporation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (TCKP) and Careem announced the launch of an affordable way for tourists to visit local attractions in the lone living city of Gandhara civilization – Peshawar, here on Friday.
The launchingceremony was held at the Nishtar Hall on the World Tourism Day 2019 themed “Tourism and Jobs – A Better Future for All”.
Kamran Rehman, Secretary Sports, Tourism, Archaeology, Culture, Museums and Youth Affairs, was the chief guest while Junaid Khan, TCKP Managing Director, Sajjad Hameed, General Manager (Admin and Properties), Shehzad Jamal, General Manager North Careem Pakistan and other senior officials attended the event.
In partnership with the TCKP, Careem will be giving city tours in Peshawar through licensed tour guides certified by the Directorate of Tourist Services (DTS).
Customers will have the facility of booking city tours through the Careem application, which can accommodate a group of up to four family members or friends around the city for three hours visiting attractions such as Qissa Khawani, Balahisar Fort, GorKhatri, Ghanta Ghar, Sethi House, Masjid-e-Mahabat Khan, Peshawar Museum and others for PKR 2000.
In addition, customers will be able to avail a 15 per cent discount to visit major tourist attractions and will also get a 20 per cent discount on all intercity rides on World Tourism Day.
Secretary Kamran Rehman said on the occasion, “To implement this year’s World Tourism Day theme in letter and spirit, I really appreciate the TCKP and Careem for joining hands to facilitatetourists and visitors in a number of cities, including Peshawar, Mardan, Mansehra, Abbottabad and other cities to promote tourism in the province.”
He said that with the launching of affordable and comfortable tours offered by Careem, tourists would now come in large numbers to visit the historic places in Peshawar and elsewhere in the KP.
Junaid Khan, Maning Director TCKP, said that various projects were being executed to introduce KP as a tourism brand to the world.
“Adventure and religious tourist activities are being organized in every nook and corner of the province besides cultural festivals and sports events that lure a great number of foreign and domestic tourists,” he added.
Zeeshan Hasib Baig, General Manager Careem Pakistan, commented that: “We believe this partnership will help unlock the income generation potential of KP through tourism and help create many jobs for the youth of the province. Careem has always been a strong proponent of partnering with smart thinking governments to simplify and improve people’s lives.”
Also on the World Tourism Day, the TCKP launched a video documentary containing visuals of historic sites in Peshawar and an audiorhythmical song of various musical instruments being played in different parts of the province.
The documentary on Peshawar screens parks, historic and heritage sites of the city, including Qissa Khawani, Balahisar Fort, Gor Khatri, Ghanta Ghar, Sethi House, Masjid-e-Mahabat Khan, Peshawar Museum, Namakmandi, Islamia College and others.
All these marvelous places have been saved through the lens of camera to share it with all and sundry in a bid to promote tourism and culture of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The tourists can use the video documentary as a guide to enjoy visits to a number of heritage sites in the city.
Besides highlighting various cultural aspects of the province such as traditional foods and sports, the TCKP also launched an audio music song of different musical instruments.
The five-minute audio song titled as “Safarnama” is a fine mixture of different musical instruments, including sarinda, rubab, sittar, electric guitar, drum, ghungro, Mexican guitar, Bass guitar, snares, kick drum, Djumbie, Darbuka, Zerbahghali, Karak Dhol and piano.
Besides establishing tourism zones, the TCKP has also launched tourist buses, KP tourism documentary, attracted international Vloggers and You-tubers and installed camping pods in Gabin Jabba recently to facilitate tourists.
