PESHAWAR: The teams of the Directorate of Tourist Services (DTS) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture and Tourism Authority (KPCTA) and respective district administrations raided hotels, restaurants and eateries to check the quality of foods, travel agencies and cleanliness in food outlets across the province.
A communication said the action was taken on the directives of Advisor to Chief Minister on Tourism and Culture Zahid Chanzeb, which was carried out under the vigilance of DTS Controller Sajjad Hameed.
The teams of DTS comprising inspectors and other staff along with respective district administrations visited hotels, restaurants, eateries and travel agencies in Peshawar, Chitral, Swat, Abbottabad, Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, Mardan, Nowshera, Charsadda and tourist attractions elsewhere in the province and checked the quality of foods, snacks, rents, amenities to tourists and registration licenses of food outlets and travel agencies.
The teams checked over 400 hotels, restaurants, eateries and travel agencies in the province and directed the owners and managers to further improve the quality of food, accommodations and services to the tourists.
Before the action, the DTS officials met the respective local administration authorities and apprised them that action was being taken against the unregistered hotels, restaurants, rent a car and travel agencies in the district. The officials were told that action would be taken against the hotels, restaurants and eateries, which served substandard and unhygienic foodstuffs, edibles and snacks.
The teams raided various bazaars and issued warnings to unregistered hotels, restaurants and eatery outlets and directed them to renew their registration license or heavy fines would be imposed for the violation.
The officials directed the owners of rent A-cars, hotels, restaurants and travel agencies to register their businesses with the DTS forthwith or else legal action would be taken against the illegal businesses.
They said the checking would help promote tourism in the province besides facilitating the tourists to get data on hotels, restaurants and travel agencies.
KPCTA Director General Barkatullah Marwat said that such activities would be carried out in the upcoming tourism season to ensure provision of better services to the tourists and visitors in KP.
He said tourists could register their complaints via Tourism Helpline 1422, which would be responded and addressed immediately.Since the upgradation of the Tourist Services Wing of the Tourism Department to a full-fledged DTS, the entity is controlling and supervising the hotel and travel industry and other businesses related to tourism in KP.
Besides, making arrangements for the provision of quality services to tourists in KP and outside Pakistan through tour operators, the directorate also generates revenue from the tourism industry for the provincial exchequer.