Corona-free tourism: NCOC asks provinces to devise guidelines

ISLAMABAD: The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) Saturday directed the provinces to devise guidelines for managing tourism sector to contain the resurgence of COVID-19 outbreak.

The meeting, chaired by Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, discussed opening up of tourism sector with Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and safety guidelines for containment of the disease. The forum highlighted that violations of SOPs had been observed at almost all tourist destinations and emphasized that if tourism was not managed well, it might create a pandemic outbreak. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Gilgit Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) administrations were requested to make all out efforts to implement SOPs on visiting tourists including use of face mask (No Mask No Tourism) and density control.

Moreover, other provinces should take measures to control the flow of tourists to the tourist destinations.

For next three weeks, special efforts to ramp up testing and contact tracing of tourists through establishing of special sentinel sites at tourist spots and airports will be ensured.

Detailed SOPs on tourism have already been issued; however, the Ministry of Health will formulate and issue special guidelines and action plan for the tourist management.