To boost tourism in Pakistan: 25 to 30 top hotels will be ready in two-three years, says Zulfi

ISLAMABAD: The Special Assistant to the PM (SAPM) on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development, Sayed Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari (Zulfi Bukhari), on Sunday said the country would get as many as 25 to 30 ‘five-star’ international standard hotels and motels in the next two to three years.

Addressing at ‘Pakistan Tourism Forum’ organised by Cutting Edge Group in collaboration with the NTCB, the SAPM said it would help provide the best hospitality and also boost tourism in the country. He said tourism is a priority of the incumbent government and appropriate focus has been put to promote tourism, as Pakistan has been declared a top tourist destination. Zulfi said the government would soon launch “Pakistan” as a brand to promote tourism industry. An ePortal would be launched for tourists to provide proper information about the hotels and resorts and their ratings, weather, traffic and other information regarding tourist destinations in the country.

Zulfi Bukhari said, “We have formulated a national tourism strategy from 2020 to 2030 and for that we have also introduced a five-year action plan (2020-25)." He said the tourism sector remained a neglected industry and there was a lack of modernization, usage of information and communications technology, which hindered the development. The government has restructured the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC), according to its new role as a coordination body; it is to shift its model from an operator to a policy maker and regulator. He said tech savvy and young workforce would be engaged to lead tourism development in the country.

The SAPM said integrated tourism zones were also being developed through master planning for systematic development of tourism destinations and the government has planned to give a leading role to the private sector to utilise corporate’s efficiencies and expertise. In this regard, the PTDC’s hotels/motels in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan were being leased out to the private sector, he added. Similarly, the properties located in provinces would also be leased out by the respective provincial governments. The ‘Punjab Museum Act’ was being finalised to steer the development of museums and around eight museums have been given under the control to Punjab Museum Authority, he said.

Zulfi Bukhari said the government has been working to transform the Taxila and Lahore museums on modern lines and to make them state-of-the-art features. The SAPM said Pakistan facilitated e-Visa and would soon launch a ‘Visa App’ and e-Portal, which would contain all booking details regarding hotels/motels and other tourism information for accommodations and travelling to the tourist destinations. He said the tourism portal in Pakistan would be launched later this year.

The government has been working to establish the infrastructure and provide every missing facility with aiming to generate multiple jobs through effective promotion of tourism in Pakistan.