PM Khan green lights body to promote Pakistan as a tourist-friendly nation

PESHAWAR: The federal government on Monday approved formation of National Tourism Coordination Board for rebuilding Pakistan’s image on tourism front at the international level, ARY News reported.

The decision was taken during a meeting of Federal Tourism Task Force which was 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 Coordination Board will consist of 25 members from federal ministries, provincial departments and other relevant persons.

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

https://arynews.tv/en/pakistan-relax-visa-rules-97-countries/

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

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

The meeting also unanimously decided to organise Pakistan Tourism Expo at the international level and reorganise 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 and 157 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa be used for commercial purposes for revenue generation.

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 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.