PESHAWAR:
The Tourism Corporation of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (TCKP) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Saiyah Travels, an Islamabad-based travel agency, to promote tourism in the province.
The agreement was signed on Saturday at an event to commemorate World Tourism Day held globally on September 27. According to the MoU, efforts will be made to encourage Japanese and Korean tourists to visit archaeological sites in K-P.
A Youth Tourism Development Program has also been set up to create awareness about the various archaeological sites in the province. Under this initiative, tours to historical places across the province will begin from October 15 for students of government schools.
In the shadow
During the event, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MPA from Kohistan Abdul Sattar Khan said the provincial government must ensure tourist sites are made more accessible before it makes ‘tall claims’ to promote tourism.
According to Khan, K-P has an abundance of tourist destinations which have been largely ignored. The people of the province cannot access these sites due to the lack of proper infrastructure, he added.
Speaking on the occasion, Peshawar Deputy Commissioner Zahirul Islam insisted there is no country in the world with such a large collection of tourist and heritage sites. However, the absence of peace and stability in the province has diverted attention away from the tourism sector.
“We have not been able to develop our tourist sites and do not attract the same number of foreigners as we did before,” he added.
“The Khyber Safari is now beyond repair,” said Pakistan Association of Tour Operators Vice-chairman Zahoor Ahmad Durrani.
He added, “We plan to collaborate with the railway services and run a safari train from Peshawar to Attock.”
Published in The Express Tribune, September 28th, 2014.
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