Govt approves formation of national tourism coordination board

PESHAWAR: The government on Monday approved formation of national tourism coordination board aimed at rebuilding Pakistan’s image on tourism front at the international level, ARY News reported.

The decision to this effect was taken during meeting of Federal Tourism Task Force presided over by Prime Minister Imran Khan. The meeting was attended by Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, PM’s special assistants, Iftikhar Durrani and Zulfi Bukhari and other officials of relevant departments.

The meeting decided the national tourism co-ordination board will consist of 25 members from federal ministries pertinent to the objective, provincial departments and tourism ministry.

The meeting also decided to direct Pakistani embassies to adopt measures regarding promotion of country’s tourism sector.

Government decides to relax visa rules to attract tourism, investment

It was unanimously consented during the meeting that Pakistan would be introduced as a tourism country at world forums. Senior Minister of Khyber Pakhtonkhwa, Atif Khan, also briefed the moot about steps taken by the provincial government for promotion of tourism.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Imran Khan directed officials concerned to implement decisions taken by the government regarding visa policy.

The meeting also unanimously decided to organize Pakistan tourism expo at the international level and re-organize Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC). While properties of PTDC worth Rs 200 billion will be transferred to provinces.

The government also decided to form working groups for religious, cultural, and historical tourism. Prime Minister Imran Khan directed that 800 rest houses in Punjab be used for commercial purposes for revenue generation.

While 157 rest houses in Khyber Pakhtonkhwa will also be utilized for commercial purpose, said the PM.

He called upon officials to pay special focus on eco-tourism sector.

It is pertinent to mention here that the government of Pakistan had decided to relax visa rules for 97 countries in the first phase, to attract tourists and the foreign investment in the country.

The decision was taken in an important meeting chaired by the Prime Minister Imran Khan with COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Information Minister, Fawad Chaudhry, State Minister for Interior, Shehryar Afridi and others on Jan 24.

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