UNWTO offers technical help for tourism promotion in KP

PESHAWAR: The Tourism Corporation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (TCKP) Managing Director, Junaid Khan, has said that the United Nation World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has offered technical support and cooperation for boosting sustainable tourism and attracting foreign tourists to the scenic places of the province.

The offer came at a meeting between the UNWTO Regional Director Jing Xu and Executive Director for Technical Cooperation and Services Zhu Shanzhong and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tourism Department Additional Secretary Tariq Aslam, TCKP MD Junaid Khan and Pakistan Ambassador to Spain Khayam Akbar in their office in Spain.

Zhu Shanzhong praised the KP government for its endeavours being made for the promotion of tourism and facilities provided to the tourists in the province, said a press release. He offered technical cooperation and training support to the tourism experts in dealing with many challenges including promotion of sustainable tourism and ecotourism. He asked his team members to visit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and provide every kind of support for boosting the tourism sector. Zhu Shanzhong also invited the KP officials to the regional conference to be held in Sri Lanka in June this year. The participants of the meeting agreed that KP’s natural valleys were game-changer in promoting tourism and providing employment opportunities if the unexplored natural mountainous and rural scenic spots of the province were developed along modern lines.

They said that there was a dire need for digital and technical facilities to promote hospitality industry and ensure better service delivery to the visitors. The participants agreed to take practical steps for implementation of the decisions so far taken for promotion of tourism in Pakistan, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Junaid Khan expressed his gratitude to Zhu Shanzhong for extending unconditional support and cooperation for promotion of tourism sector and hospitality industry in KP. Earlier, Pakistan Ambassador to Spain Khayam Akbar told the meeting that Pakistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments had launched a number of projects for promotion of tourism at global level to attract foreign and overseas Pakistanis to the scenic sites of the province. Briefing the meeting, TCKP MD Junaid Khan said that provincial government had taken a number initiatives for the sustainable development of tourism.

He said that work on the development and rehabilitation of tourism integrated zones was in full-swing besides upgradation of existing tourist resorts in the province. Tourism Department Additional Secretary Tariq Aslam said that 2020 has been declared as the year of tourism in Pakistan for which many projects have been launched to boost the sector. He said there is an immense growth and investment potential in tourism sector in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “Our main objective is to attract larger number of foreign tourists to the country and to explore the most scenic province internationally," he added.