ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s new government under Prime Minister Imran Khan is fully focused to promote and facilitate Pakistan’s travel and tourism industry as in his very first speech to the nation after being elected as prime minister, Imran Khan said Pakistan has God gifted tourist sites and the country is bestowed with huge tourism potential. He vowed to promote tourism to strengthen the country’s economy.
Earlier during his election campaign, on more than one occasion Khan talked about tourism industry of Pakistan and promised that if voted to power, promotion of tourism to strengthen the economy of the country will be among the top priorities of his party.
The PTI manifesto is very clear about tourism promotion and talks about the sector are in the following worlds;
“PTI will turn around the tourism industry to improve international image and increase its direct contribution to GDP. In order to boost tourism we will; promote and position Pakistan as ‘Asia’s Best Kept Secret’, champion tourism in places including and beyond the northern areas, develop 20 new destinations in five years, implement a framework to incentivise private sector investments.”
“The government will promote and position Pakistan as Asia’s Best Kept Secret in the global tourism market in order to boost tourism,” Raja Khurram Nawaz, a lawmaker of the ruling Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf (PTI) told media recently.
All stakeholders of travel and tourism industry are very optimistic that the government will soon introduce tourism friendly policies besides relaxing our visa policy. Being a neglected industry for years, tourism needs an early respite.
He was of the view that tourism sector in the area in need of being promoted. Khan said that tourism would be promoted through the educational sector.
As the new government has shown determination and keen interest to improve and promote the tourism sector by taking result-oriented measures, Pakistan’s tourism sector is optimistic and expecting a further boost, Xinhua reported on Thursday.
During the last five-year tenure of the PTI-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government, the tourism sector has witnessed some improvement in attracting tourists both locally and internationally. Improved security and better road links are also the reasons for better tourism besides some tourism favorable policies of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.
