Government to Launch E-Portal to Promote Tourism

 News Desk

Islamabad: Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) Ehsanur Rehman Mazari on Tuesday said the ministry is going to launch a National Tourism E-portal to provide information and facilitation to foreign and domestic tourists with one click.

He was addressing the 11th session of the Islamic Conference of Tourism Ministers (ICTM- June 27-29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, said a press release issued on Tuesday.

The minister said it should be a matter of collective pride that an increasing number of ministers were participating in the Intra-OIC cooperation for Tourism.

Mazari said tourism was a mainstay of our economies and most important source of generating valuable foreign exchange, economic growth and employment in the OIC Member States.

Unfortunately, there were several challenges impeding the growth and development of this vital sector ranging from lack of peace and stability, weak infrastructural base, and weak regulations and standards, the minister informed the participants.

Ehsan ur Rehman said the outbreak of the Covid-19 Pandemic led to significant losses in the tourism sector in the OIC member states, including Pakistan, viz-a-viz tourism receipts, employment in the sector.

In the post-Covid scenario, owing to immense challenges faced by the nascent tourism sector of OIC countries, there is a need to facilitate knowledge and technology transfers and offer technical assistance for capacity building in member states to increase preparedness for future shocks that could hamper the course of development in Tourism due to natural calamities or armed conflicts.

The global tourism market was all set to be more competitive in the post-Covid-19 scenario, owing to new technological advances, new health and safety regulations, hence it is imperative that OIC members take necessary steps that promote tourism, including Islamic tourism, its allied products,  services, as well as provide visa facilitations to potential travelers as enshrined in relevant resolutions of ICTM.

He said that efforts are underway to increase the Tourist Arrivals in Pakistan after the recovery from the pandemic of Covid-19 as it is an important constituent of our economy, and a key priority of our government.

The promotion of tourism among the member states is very close to the heart of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, he maintained. Focusing on the theme of the 11th session of ICTM said that, in order to strengthen the local communities to benefit from the tourism industry, the subject of tourism has been devolved to provinces through a Constitutional amendment.

Today, each of the four provinces has its own independent Tourism department, he further told the conference participants.

At the Federal level, Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) is the agency that provides a strategic vision to develop the tourism sector as a national priority in a sustainable manner and in line with regional and international trends.

The minister also enlightened the participants that GoP has taken a number of steps to strengthen the tourism industry including; Establishing a high-level National Coordination Committee on Tourism (NCCT) under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister of Pakistan to oversee the development of Tourism with a special focus on the development of required infrastructure and framework for tourist facilitation.

Moreover, the National Tourism E-portal was going to be launched to provide necessary information and facilitation to the foreign and domestic tourists in one click.

He added that a new publication under the title of “Journey into Light” in English and Urdu languages has been compiled to promote Islamic heritage tourism in Pakistan.

He said Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) is planning to hold a conference on Sustainable Tourism in the OIC Member States.

PTDC has recently signed an MoU with the Islamic Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (ICCIA) under which tourism conferences and fairs will be held in Pakistan consecutively for 5 years.

In his speech, the minister also apprised the august gathering about the government’s working on various infrastructure projects such as improvements of the road network, tourist boarding lodging facilities under integrated Tourism Zones (ITZs), and destination management plans in the regions attracting more tourists.

In the end, Federal Minister Ehsan ur Rehman Mazari proposed a few steps towards the promotion of cooperation in tourism among the brotherly Islamic States. In this effect he proposed, Investment opportunities and projects for joint ventures in the Tourism & hospitality sector may be shared among investors from the OIC Member States.

Moreover, linkages between tourism stakeholders must be established with a view to strengthen joint tourism marketing and promote cooperation efforts at the sub-regions level as well as at the level of the OIC region as a whole.

This could be achieved through the promotion of regional and cross-border tourism by offering easy entry and visa services. He said that the holding of tourism exhibitions can be encouraged and participation of member states can be ensured on a reciprocal basis.