Three-day Malam Jabba Winter Sports Festival to kick off from 17th

PESHAWAR: The three-day Malam Jabba Winter Sports Festival 2020 is going to kick off at the scenic tourist resort Malam Jabba in Swat Valley from January 17.

Being organised by the Tourism Corporation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (TCKP), the festival would feature a number of winter sports games including skiing, speed skating, ice hockey, sledding and tobogganing, music show, food, display of handicrafts and others, said an press release.

Chairing a meeting to this effect here on Tuesday, the TCKP Managing Director, Junaid Khan, said that the Tourism Department in collaboration with the district administration of Swat and other partners from private sector were making arrangements to hold the winter sports gala in a befitting manner to lure more tourists and visitors to the famous valley of fairy tales and citadel of Buddhism religion in the ancient era. Malam Jabba is the only civil skiing resort in Pakistan at about 8500 feet above the sea level.

Besides skiing, alpine ski, skating competitions for both under-15 boys and girls and seniors, curling, snow-tubing and others are also part of the gala. The official said that the sports extravaganza was aimed at reviving the scenic places, rehabilitating the archaeological and heritage sites and provision of missing facilities to boost tourism in the province to attract tourists and visitors to the serene spots.

He also said the festival would send a positive message to the world that peace had been restored and tourism activities in full swing in Malakand and Hazara divisions and elsewhere in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He added that strenuous efforts were being made to develop scenic spots and make facilities available there to attract domestic and foreign tourists to the province. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been gifted with abundant natural beauty of lush green valleys, snow-capped mountains, deserts, rivers, landscapes, rich cultural and traditional heritage and history, springs, streams and serene spots.

It is, on the one hand, blessed with a vast mineral and agricultural reserves and resources while the plentiful natural beauty and magnificent splendour is one of its other characteristics the province possessing. There are natural springs of cool and sweet water, rhythmic waterfalls, lofty snow-covered mountains, green pastures, valleys and zigzag rivers and streams flowing with fresh water.

Because of these attractions, millions of people visit to experience the beauty it has to offer. The incumbent government at its very outset took some drastic and tangible measures to boost tourism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The provincial government has taken worth mentioning steps that led to promotion of tourism, sports and preserving the rich heritage, cultural and archaeology sites in the province.

Prime Minister Imran Khan had himself paid visits to the scenic places of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including Swat Valley, Malam Jabba ski resort, Kalam, Nathiagali, Kumrat and others not once, but for several times.

The TCKP is the front-runner and has always been playing lead role in implementing initiatives for boosting tourism in the province.

The TCKP’s active and vital role has been yielding positive results in attracting foreign and domestic tourists to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In the past, the TCKP has also arranged several events, including paragliding, rafting, zip-lining and safari train tours for domestic and foreign tourists.