Pak offers all kinds of tourism for int’l tourists along with people’s hospitality as bonus: PTDC MD

Islamabad: Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) Managing Director Aftab Rana on Tuesday said that Pakistan is among the luckiest countries in the world which offered adventure, cultural and religious tourism for international tourists.

Our three products are very strong, no country in the world has adventure tourism like Pakistan whether it is mountaineering, tracking, paragliding, river rafting or other winter sports, the MD said.

The PTDC has to work in all these areas for betterment and it has a lot of potential, Aftab Rana further said. The second segment of Pakistani tourism is cultural tourism of archeological sites because Pakistan has a history of 9,000 years from Mehrgarh civilization till to date and many of such sites can attract cultural tourism.

Third and most important segment of Pakistani tourism is defined as religious tourism which covers Budhism, Sikhism, Sufism, Christianity and Hinduism, in this regard, PTDC has started working, said Rana Aftab. He said the government is prioritizing Budhism and Sikhism tourism to generate employment in far-flung areas and to promote religious harmony.

The managing director further said that now is time to be a more responsible tourist and PTDC has prepared guidelines for international tourists regarding their visits of tourists sites and how to protect the environment and culture of that particular area and above all how to deal with the locals in those areas.

To promote sustainable tourism, the tourists have to be responsible otherwise the areas would be destroyed so it is now the responsibility of tourists to act like responsible tourists. He said Pakistan’s domestic market of tourism is very strong and the country has immense sources to promote tourism.

He said approximately 6 million tourists visit different countries every year which helps generate an economy of billions of rupees especially in the areas where there are no industries.  Tourism also plays a role of a bridge between people of different nationalities, ethnicity and backgrounds through which harmony is promoted, Rana Aftab said.

The hospitality of the people of Pakistan makes the country unique in the world which is acknowledged by the foreign tourists, he said.  APP