Zulfi Bukhari, significant Assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan on Overseas Pakistanis and Chairman National Tourism Coordination Board (NTCB), revealed that a new program is to come by the name of ‘Brand Pakistan’ at the end of this year that will boost Pakistani tourism industry to a whole new level.
He also announced that Pakistan will hold the World Tourism Forum in the upcoming year 2021, in which tourism ministers of eight countries, including Iran and turkey will take part and it is anticipated that around $3 billion investments are to be made. He also said that Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) has completed their work regarding the restructuring of the tourism sector.
During a press conference on Sunday, the Prime Minister’s wingman said that NTCB has completed a radical policy on tourism from year 2020 to 2030, including a five year action plan for tourism industry.
He also made it clear that the “Brand Pakistan” launch has been detained due to the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Tourists from all over the world will be able to take advantage of the facilities like e-visa and NTCB will soon launch a national e-portal, which will help those who wants to get information like booking details related to Motels in Pakistan.
He clarified that PTDC is not closed and it is being reformed, by saying that 360 employees of the corporation have been fired as it was a tough decision to make, for the improvement and reformation of the corporation. Moreover, he said that the PTDC motel in Naran was established on an area of 150 kanals and had the capability to hire thousands of people in need of jobs. Also, PM’s wingman said that a committee headed by the finance minister has asked the private sector to give suggestions how to work for betterment of the tourist sector.
Regretting the fact that the Roosevelt Hotel has suffered losses in the millions during the past couple of years, Bukhari said: “We are not talking about selling Roosevelt Hotel but why should we run our hotels while we are bearing so much losses?”
After showing the statistics, he said PTDC had lost PKR 700 million in 2019. As per the Government plan, 46 new three and four star hotels are expected to be established in upcoming years.
Bulut BAĞCI, The President of World Tourism Forum Institute (WTFI) via Twitter also supported the PTDC restructuring. He said, “The Move on PTDC Hotels is in line with any progressive tourism destination, where governments are ready to take actions without hesitation, forcing their way through years of bad standards and service delivery, and ready to boost up their game.”
