RAWALPINDI: The meeting of important leading tour operators from Southwest China, organized by Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC), was held at PTDC Headquarters Flashman’s Hotel Rawalpindi, which was chaired by General Manager, PTDC Ali Akbar Malik. A 10 member delegation comprising tour operators from Southwest China led by President of the Chendu Overseas Travel Heyu Guan. The meeting was attended by Manager Human Resources Ejaz Ali, Manager Flashman’s Ashfaq Ahmed Loothar, Manager Publicity Mukhtar Ali and Deputy Manager Tour Khalid Jamil Satti. From private sector, President of the Pakistan Association of Tour Operators (PATO), Syed Sajjad Hussain Shah and other seniors of the trade attended the meeting.
Addressing the meeting, General Manager PTDC Ali Akbar Malik said that Pakistan and China’s bilateral relations have been very cordial &ideal for the past 70 years and they are further strengthening after the formation of CPEC and due to this economic corridor, the world has focused on this region. China is the top outbound tourist generating country in the world and China has also given Pakistan the status of most favorable country, so it is important that tour operators of both countries to establish links to promote tourism jointly. He added d that along the CPEC, there are countless opportunities for investment in tourism sector from Khunjab to Gwadar. For the development of tourism, the private community as well as the local community needs to raise awareness about tourism, so that high and quality facilities are available to the foreign and foreign tourists.
President of the Pakistan Association of Tour Operators (PATO), Sajjad Shah said that the time has come for us to take great measures to develop tourism and take some important steps to promote tourism in the country, respecting the future. In order to promote tourism as well, the formation of National Tourism Authority is required to highlight the country’s identity.
The President of the Sustainable Tourism Foundation, Mr. Aftab ur Rahman Rana, said that trade links have increased due to improvement in the road links and the increase in tourist flow has also been witnessed. Establishment of tourism infrastructure will also help in job creation and poverty alleviation.
Head of delegation Heyu Guan said that Pakistani food is much liked by Chinese. Each year more than one million visitors from Chengdu province visit different countries every year in the country of Chengdu province, for them Pakistan can be a unique place. It is important for setting up tour packages and cooperation between tour operators. If Pakistan’s tour operators and national tourism office promote tourism destinations of Pakistan through mobile apps, Chinese language and social media through their tourist places, China can turn into largest tourist generating country of Pakistan. Other members of the group include Xia-lu, Le Kang, Ling Zhau, Xiyue Liu, Pei Lu, Fan Shao, Ji Cui, Yi Feng Duan and Tianyi Shae.
