Boosting tourism: Plan to develop Galiyat disclosed

The provincial government will soon finalise a master plan for the development of Galiyat valleys in Abbottabad and ensure the protection of environment in the area. This was included in a statement issued in Islamabad after a meeting between Chief Secretary Muhammad Shahzad Arbab and representatives of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on Friday. Experts from IUCN will also be engaged in the plan. It was decided IUCN might hire consultants on its own to assess environmental assets for their best use. In this regard, they will prepare and submit the terms of reference of its engagement to the government next week. All of this, as told by the chief secretary, is to be completed by the next tourist season, which is summer of 2014. This plan will then be used to develop areas like Kaghan and Naran valleys in Mansehra as well.


Published in The Express Tribune, November 2^nd, 2013.