Govt to launch national tourism promotion app

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) would launch a national tourism promotion application to provide the necessary and latest information to the local and foreign tourists about attractive recreational sites across the country, its Chairman Sayed Zulfiqar Bukhari said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the launching ceremony of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tourism Corporation’s mobile application, Bukhari said, “The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government again takes lead in carrying forward Prime Minister Imran Khan’s strong vision about tourism.

“The tourism sector will flourish in the near

future and if it takes technology as an enabler, travel for everyone will be
simplified,” he remarked.

The federal government would replicate this

initiative at the national level and share it with other provinces so that the sector
could be uplifted and the country’s economy could be strengthened, he added.

The PTDC chairman, who also happens to be the special

assistant to the prime minister for overseas Pakistanis & human resource
development, said this initiative was the first of its kind which would provide
tourists an opportunity to plan their tours easily, besides connecting travel
lovers across the country.

He also shared the PTDC plan of bringing all

the provinces including Punjab, Sindh, Khyber PakhtunKhwa, Gilgit Baltistan and
Azad and Jammu Kashmir under one umbrella to promote Pakistan’s religious tourism
abroad.

“Soon, Prime Minister Imran Khan will launch

the PTDC's mega project regarding the branding of Pakistan abroad,” he added.

Bukhari reiterated the government’s resolve to

boost tourist activities across the country by embracing modern technology, “as
this sector could bring valuable foreign exchange to the country”.

He said the tourism industry could be helpful

in evoking the fifth industrial revolution in Pakistan.

“Tourism is contributing around 10pc in the Gross

Domestic Product (GDP) globally but unfortunately in Pakistan, only 2.9pc is the
contribution of this highly profitable industry in the national economy,” he
stated. “Under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the PTDC aims to contribute
10pc to the GDP which will help the the national kitty earn over Rs20 billion.”