January 7, 2003	Tuesday	Ziqa’ad 3, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, Jan 6: The minister of state for tourism, Rais Munir Ahmad, has directed the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) to put up a proposal to him for easing the visa policy with a view to promoting tourism in the country.

He said the proposal should be furnished with all details so that the matter could be taken up with the ministries concerned. He issued these directives during his first visit to the PTDC on Monday, an official statement said.

The PTDC managing director, Maj Gen Anis Ahmad Bajwa, made a formal presentation on the state of tourism in the country and the working of the corporation.

Secretary tourism Mohammad Tariq Janjua, joint secretary tourism Mohammad Kashif Murtaza, senior officials of the PTDC and the ministry were also present during the briefing.

Gen Bajwa told the minister that the prime function of the corporation was to develop tourism infrastructure in the country, promotion of Pakistan as a tourist-friendly destination etc.

He said: “Our main objective is to attract tourists from abroad. However, he said the number of tourists visiting the country declined after 9/11.

He also apprised the minister about the issues which were faced by the tourism sector and the PTDC. The poor image of Pakistan, security situation, socio-cultural restrictions for foreign tourists, non-implementation of tourism policy and visa policy are some of the main problems, he added.

The minister was also briefed on the issuance of visa by Pakistani missions abroad. The managing director said getting a visa was not easy and the and the intending tourists were subjected to uncalled for problems.

Talking about the current strategy of the corporation, he said it had been focused on selected markets of tourism industry such as China, Middle East, Japan, Korea, overseas Pakistanis and Sikhs.

He said the focus had now been diverted to year-round tourism, instead of seasonal tourism. In this regard, the PTDC is concentrating on developing infrastructure in different parts of the country in collaboration with the private sector.