Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tourism Ministry has set up a Pakistan Tourism Stall in collaboration with lead tour operators; Adventure Tours Pakistan, Karakorum Explorers, Himalayan Holidays and Pakistan’s World renowned mountaineer Nazir Sabir’s Expedition Company at the four-day event at ExCel London 2011 World Tourism Mart on Thursday.Minister for Tourism, Sports, Archaeology and Youth Affairs Syed Aqil Shah, who carries a lifetime experience of tourism promotion, was personally present to supervise the participation.
Deputy High Commissioner Nafees Zakaria also attended the event and assured the High Commission fullest support to promote tourism in Pakistan.
Ever since the devolution of tourism sector responsibilities to the provinces after the 18th amendment, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has taken lead and participated in a number of international tourism exhibitions.Khyber Tourism Corporation will lead tour operators from Pakistan to International Tourism Festival Spain, International Tourism Festival Beijing China, International Tourism Festival Italy, and International Tourism Festival Berlin Germany during 2012.The visitors to Pakistan stall took keen interest in the Pakistan’s heavenly tourist attractions and tour operators secured a number of packages.
Pakistan’s snow-clad peaks of Hamalaya, Karakorum and Hindu Kush Mountain Ranges, serene highest lakes on earth and melting pot of various ancient civilisations offer great tourism opportunities to satiate the appetite of people from any walk of life and taste.Talking to the people at the venue, Syed Aqil Shah mentioned numerous activities undertaken to promote tourism in Pakistan and presented his ideas how intended to take it further for the socio-economic uplift and allay misperception about Pakistan.
The promotional measures included installing of screens at Pakistan Missions abroad for displaying touristic sites for the visa seekers and visitors to the diplomatic premises.When contacted, Aqil Shah told newsmen that setting up Pakistan’s stall in ExCel London Mart-2011 would certainly help in highlighting the tourism potential that our country has.
He said to attract the foreign tourists such like platform could play significant role and that was why Pakistan stall had set-up.He said out of the total tourism potential, 70 percent of the country’s tourism potential was in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which suffered badly because of the insurgency and militancy but things were heading toward normalcy, especially in Swat.
He said Pakistan with its diverse cultures, people and landscapes had attracted 0.7 million tourists to the country, almost double to that of a decade ago.He said Pakistan’s tourism industry was in its heyday during the 1970′s when the country received unprecedented amounts of foreign tourists, thanks to the Hippie trail.
The main destinations of choice for these tourists were the Swat, Khyber Pass, Peshawar, Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi.The country’s attraction range from the ruin of civilisation such as Moen-jo-Daro, Harappa and Taxila, to the Himalayan hill stations, which attract those interested in winter sports and is home to several mountain peaks over 7000m, which attract adventurers and mountaineers from around the world, especially K2, he added.Many people called Swat Valley as a paradise on earth as it is blessed with natural beauty and great tourism potential but the area and its people suffered badly due to insurgency and militancy, he informed.
Aqil Shah said the Swat Valley was home to many Buddhist monasteries and Stupas.
This area was filled with 14,000 beautiful stupas and monasteries, which housed as many as 6,000 gold images of the Buddhist pantheon for worship and education.
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