Chorr valley to be developed to attract tourists

Tourism Corporation says spots will be developed in merged areas as well

PESHAWAR: As the federal and provincial governments double down on their tourism policy, the Chorr Valley in the Battagram district of the scenic Hazara Division has been identified as the latest location which will be developed as a tourist spot.

This was stated by Tourism Corporation of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (TCK-P) Managing Director Junaid Khan on Sunday. In a statement, he said that tourism can play a vital role in the country's economy.

Noting that the province has immense potential for tourism, Prime Minister Imran Khan had directed to develop the Chorr Valley to attract more and more local and foreign tourists.

“The province is replete with scenic places for the tourists but we need to develop tourism infrastructure and link roads to facilitate access of visitors to the serene sites,” the official said, adding that over 2.5 million domestic and foreign tourists had visited Galiyat, Hazara and Malakand divisions, Upper Dir, Lower Dir, Kumrat, Kalash valleys and enjoyed festivals in Bamburet and Booni in Chitral district in recent years. Junaid conceded that the Covid-19 pandemic had badly impacted the tourism sector. However, he expressed the hope that the province which once bounced back from years of militancy will soon return on track for tourism development.

In this regard, he pointed out that the federal and provincial governments had allocated Rs4.4 billion just for construction of link roads in the Hazara and Malakand divisions while Rs2 billion will be spent on the development of scenic spots and the promotion of tourism in Swabi, Buner, Dir, DI Khan, Kohat and other southern districts.

A further Rs3 billion have been set aside for the development of tourist spots in the merged districts, including Tirah in Khyber, Samoona in Orakzai, Chappari in Parachinar, Kurram and the North and South districts of Waziristan.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 22^nd, 2020.