Written By Ch. Faisal Mehmood
Very encouraging reports about the high arrival of tourists at places like Naran, Kaghan, Hunza, Chitral, Nathiagali and similarly from many part of AJK including Muzaffarabad, SudhanGali, Lasdana, Toli Peer, Banjosa, LoharTupa, Mangla , Sudhonoti, Kotli and Mirpur are pouring in constantly which is something to be celebrated by people like us, who has waited long to hear that Pakistan tourism is improving fast. All hotels in these regions are doing good business even some local people are renting out portions of their houses to tourists and earned their livelihood through tourism once again after long time.
Much happier is the Prime Minister Azad Kashmir, Raja Farooq Haider Khan, showing great gesture, he once decided to welcome the tourists personally and by doing this, he has admitted the socio-economic importance of tourism for his part of Kashmir.
We highly appreciate his gesture, and now his new road connectivity plan to further facilitate the tourists by providing them short and easy excess in every part of AJK. Of course, good road links and better infrastructure is the prerequisites for booming tourism.
We are hopeful that after the completion of 108km-long tourism corridor will play a vital role for further boosting tourism in the region.
It is evident that the local tourism is picking up momentum, an encouraging development that will gladden the hearts of all our compatriots. This suggests that finally the fate of the tourism industry in Pakistan is taking a turn for the better.
It is beyond any doubt that Pakistan has a great potential of tourism of all shapes like camping tourism, expedition tourism , adventure tourism, leisure tourism and of course religious tourism .
With better security conditions, with improved road infrastructure and with the efforts of various governmental tourism organisations and of course with the consistent efforts and unflinching faith of Holiday Weekly domestic tourism of many regions is improving fast. As is said, necessity is the mother of all inventions similarly here in case of domestic tourism demand will lead to new and expanded hospitality sector and other necessary tourism infrastructures in near future provided the relevant governments lend good incentive to the comparatively weak tourism industry of Pakistan.
With healthy flow of domestic tourists and with improved security situation, supported by good infrastructure and by setting up department of Tourism and hospitality in all Pakistani universities we might succeed to turn the things in the favour of Tourism Pakistan and we surely succeed to win back some couple of thousands of International tourists in the near future.
