2007 to be celebrated as ‘Visit Pakistan Year’
By Saad Ahmad

RAWALPINDI—Year 2007 will be celebrated as "Visit Pakistan Year" with an aim to promote and support tourism for the better economic interests of the country, Federal Minister for Tourism, Nilofar Bakhtiar said here on Tuesday.
Speaking at a conference on “Tourism Prospects and Potential-A Vision for, the federal minister said, Pakistan has great potential for tourism however this needed to be exploited for the better interests of the nation.
She said, Pakistan possessed immense potential in form of diversity of culture, rich heritage, beautiful valleys, mountains, deserts and huge coastal areas to attract foreign tourists in all seasons of the year.
She said, ‘Visit Pakistan 2007’ will be formally inaugurated in December this year and added programmes and events will be held throughout Pakistan for the promotion of tourism. She expressed the hope that 2007 would be the year of success for Pakistan tourism.
Besides, the federal minister said, Pakistan has eased its visa policy to attract more and more foreign tourists and added 24 countries have now been included in group countries which would be provided visa on easy basis. She said, visas could be provided even on airports to facilitate easy movement of the tourists.
She however stressed the need for collective efforts to promote a vast tourism potential in the country through a public-private partnership at the grass-roots level.
Speaking on the occasion, Federal Minister for Culture, Ghazi Gulab Jamal said, tourism would not only boost up the economy but also help improve image of our country abroad. He said, it is need of the hour that government seriously focuses on this industry.
Stressing upon the need for cooperation between neighboring countries, the minister said, with mutual understanding and comprehensive strategy, tourism could be increased manifold in the region.
He said, tourism industry has been brought on the right track by the present government as upward trend has been witnessed during the past few years.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Finance Division, Omar Ayub Khan said that district nazims and local representatives should be involved in the process to boost up tourism in their respective areas.
Addressing the conference, Secretary Tourism, Saleem Gul Sheikh highlighted the importance of tripartite cooperation between Public, Private and Community sectors. He said, tourism industry would help reduce the problem of unemployment and bring economic benefits for the country.
Among others, the conference was attended by Provincial Minister for tourism, Mian Mohammad Aslam, Balochistan Minister for Tourism, Minister for Tourism Azad Jammu and Kashmir, officials from the ministry of tourism, nazims and a number of elected representatives.
The conference was followed by a workshop which was presided over by the federal minister for tourism. Several recommendations were presented in the workshop for the improvement the industry.
It was recommended that priority must be given to tourism at all levels of the government and as first step district governments should establish fully functional ‘tourism desk’ at the respective headquarters.
District governments would take steps to implement zoning/building codes to preserve and protect the environment from degradation and unplanned mushroom growth.
It was recommended that district and provincial governments would give priority to identifying land for establishing hotels and would make efforts to expedite the pace of work on construction and repairs of roads and other infrastructure linking tourist destinations.
Private and public sector universities would be encouraged to commence graduate and post graduate level courses in tourism and hospitality management, it was recommended.