Punjab Tourism Squad launched to facilitate tourists

LAHORE: Taking major step towards safe tourism, Punjab Tourism Department launched Punjab Tourism Squad at a ceremony held at the Punjab Stadium here on Thursday.

Initially, the squad will serve in Murree zone and cater to tourists on August 14. The prime objective of Punjab Tourism Squad is to provide tourists pleasant and trouble-free environment. Punjab Minister for Youth Affairs Malik Taimoor Masood and Advisor to CM Punjab on Tourism Ayaz Khan Niazi were the were the guests of honour on this occasion.

Secretary Tourism Punjab Ehsan Bhutta, DG Sports Punjab Tariq Qureshi, Director Admin Syed Omair Hasan, DG Rescue-1122 Dr Rizwan Naseer and other officials attended the ceremony. Advisor to CM Punjab on Tourism administered the oath while Punjab Minister for Youth Affairs distributed certificates among top three members of Punjab Tourism Squad – Waseem Akram, Ms Amna Asghar and M Siddiq for their outstanding performance during 4-week training. After launching, the squad comprising 71 male and 11 female members took part in march past in the stadium. 38 motor bikes were also distributed among the squad members.

It is informed at the ceremony that over 80 officers will be posted in Murree and other places of province before August 14 to facilitate the tourists. The members of Punjab Tourism Squad have been trained for around a month. Rescue-1122 trained them in first aid and other emergency services. Institute of Hospitality Management, TDCP gave the squad two weeks training in hospitality, basic behaviour and ethics, essential to manage anger and mitigate risk.

Addressing the ceremony, Punjab Minister for Youth Affairs Malik Taimoor Masood said that no task can be achieved without passion and dedication and he is quite confident that the newly-launched Punjab Tourism Squad will attain great success in their fresh assignment. He said that Punjab Tourism Department took an important measure by launching Punjab Tourism Squad under the slogan of Guidance, Facilitation and Regulation. “It is for the first time, a dedicated tourism force was created to facilitate tourists”. The minister further said that Punjab Tourism Squad would have great responsibility on their shoulders.