Govt initiates process to formulate tourism policy

It will help restructure govt departments that regulate and promote tourism

LAHORE: Efforts are being made to evolve a comprehensive Punjab tourism policy with an approach towards development of tourism, said Punjab Secretary for Youth Affairs, Sports, Archaeology and Tourism Department Muhammad Amir Jan.

He was addressing a seminar on "Punjab Tourism Policy" organised at a hotel on Saturday.



The minister said that all stakeholders should give their recommendations so that things could be improved in the larger interest of the tourism sector.

He said that the new tourism policy would have four main aspects, including promotion, awareness, branding and marketing. The policy is aimed at helping restructure government departments that regulate tourism, uplift existing infrastructure and encourage the private sector to come up with innovative ideas to promote tourism in the province.

Punjab Planning and Development Department Secretary Iftikhar Ali Sahoo said that tourism industry is a promising sector and ever-growing field around the world. Sharing of ideas and experiences always help in producing a better outcome, he added.

Punjab has multifaceted tourism potential that includes religious tourism, adventure and desert tourism, cultural and heritage tourism, eco-tourism, urban and recreational tourism, he said. He added that the policy was being devised to ensure the provision of state-of-the-art tourism services across the province for fast-track economic growth in far-flung areas of the province.



Some other speakers were of the view that Punjab has all elements of becoming a destination of choice for tourists owing to its historical monuments, cultural diversity and hospitable people. Through development and management of well-articulated policies, product projection, marketing strategies and public-private partnerships, the tourism sector in Punjab can contribute to the over-all socio-economic development of Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2018.