PESHAWAR, July 12: Speakers at a two-day seminar on “Prospects for developing regional tourism and role of different modes of transport” have cited the poor transportation system as the major hurdle in the way of promotion of tourism in the country. On the first day of the seminar, which has been organized by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport,.the speakers said that tourism promoted social values, led to economic prosperity, while transportation dealt with the safe on-time delivery of people and goods from one place to another to achieve this end.

They said that that there was a need to identify and rectify the loopholes in the transportation system within the existing tourism sector.

The speakers urged highlighting the need for promoting the tourism industry of the country.

A senior transport expert of the World Bank’s energy and transport infrastructure unit, Amer Zafar Durrani, said from the tourism point of view the roads are in a dilapidated state, whereas rail and air links are also unreliable.

He said: “Access to tourist spots is lacking and mobility is a big problem.”

Mr Durrani said that the transportation system acted as a backbone for the development of tourism and an independent transportation system could result in the promotion of the tourism industry.

He said: “Pakistan also does not have a clear-cut tourism strategy which is why it has been unable to develop a proactive supporting transportation system policy.”

The road transport services were deregulated in the 1960s that paved the way for the system to record a downfall.

The transport infrastructure is inadequate and poorly maintained and the Pakistan Railways, traditionally run by the central government ministry, is also in a sad state of affairs.

NWFP Governor Khalilur Rehman, who was the chief guest at the inaugural session of the seminar on Monday, told the participants that the tourism industry needed to be developed as the NWFP had many tourist attractions. There were many historical monuments as Peshawar happened to be an ancient city and the abode of different civilizations.

He said that roads and railways linking tourist destinations were in a bad state, and added that abandoned railway tracks should be utilized by the tourist operators for the uplift of the tourism industry.

He said that the Pakistan Railways was facing losses and it should be privatized to provide better services to the people and make it a profit-earning organization.

He said that trained professionals on tourism were required to provide better services to foreign tourists so as to change the negative perception about Pakistan.

Speakers, including tour operators, motel owners and other professionals, demanded that tourists should be provided with facilities. All foreign tourists should be encouraged by relaxing immigration and travel facilities as tourism in Pakistan was cheap.

The chief executive of the Peshawar Transport Company, Anjum Afroz Rana, said that tourism had an enormous potential to improve social and economic conditions. Tourism professionals should be trained and involved in developing the tourism industry.

Speakers said that tourism in many areas, especially Northern Areas, was receiving a set back due to the law and order situation. The tragic incident of 9/11 also discouraged foreign tourists and there was a need to project the image of Pakistan as a tourist-friendly country.

The speakers also pointed out that inland water transport and coastal shipping was not developed. There was a need for developing tourism transport by promoting river- and sea-cruises and other related tourism infrastructure.

Immigration and tourism facilitation procedures in Pakistan do not respond to modern needs and expectations due to Pakistan’s location on the map and regional political and economic tensions. There is a dire need for improving immigration and other facilities such as travel planning, inter-modal transfers, security clearances, fewer identification check-points and visa issuance and extensions for tourists.

The participants demanded development of infrastructure in line with the tourism industry, creation of a customer-oriented system and need for efforts in internet-based transport facilitation.