One-window service being set up to facilitate tourism stakeholders

PESHAWAR: A senior official said on Tuesday that one-window service was being set up to facilitate all the stakeholders related to the tourism industry in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“Beside other walks of life, the coronavirus has also badly affected the tourism industry in our province,” Abid Majeed, the Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tourism Department said while speaking at the final phase of special training on implementing the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and safety measures against coronavirus and raising awareness about the viral disease here. The Directorate of Tourist Services (DTS) – a wing of the Tourism Department - and the World Bank funded Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Integrated Tourism (KITE) project, had jointly arranged the training. KITE Project Director Tauseef Khalid, Director General Directorate of Tourist Services Ghulam Saeed, DTS Director Muhammad Arabi, Director Archaeology Dr Abdul Samad, Hotels Association President Khalid Ayub, Travel Agents Association Chairman Shamshir Ali and others attended the training programme.

The secretary said that tangible steps were being taken to promote the tourism sector for which one-window service was being established to facilitate tourists and all the stakeholders related to the tourism industry. On the special directives of secretary Tourism Department, sessions of special training on implementing the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and safety measures against coronavirus and raising awareness about the viral disease were arranged at Kalam Valley in Swat district and Nathiagali, Naran, Peshawar and Abbottabad districts. The crash course for the hotels’ staff members and officials of the respective district administration at the tourist spots of the province was organised after cases of Covid-19 infection emerged in Nathiagali and Naran valleys.

The hotels’ staff, officials of the district administration, Galiyat Development Authority, Rescue 1122, travel and tour operators and others were imparted training on adopting SOPs and other safety steps against coronavirus. All the departments, affiliated organisations and private stakeholders participated in the training to raise awareness about adopting SOPs to save precious lives from the fatal virus while visiting tourist destinations or serving tourists and visitors.

The training was aimed at further promoting the cause of provincial and federal governments to stem the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Tourism Department is also taking tangible measures to implement the SOPs in letter and spirit to ensure “safe tourism from coronavirus” in the province.

The Tourism Department welcomed the tourists to the scenic spots of the province after the government lifted restrictions on tourism related activities and ended lockdown at the tourist resorts. The tourists have been requested to follow SOPs to ensure safety of the families and contain the fast-spreading fatal viral disease at the tourist attractions in the province.