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| July 18, 2005 | Monday | Jumadi-us-Sani 10, 1426 |
‘Tourism sector attracts foreign investors’
ISLAMABAD, July 17: Federal Tourism Minister Ghazi Gulab Jamal on Sunday said foreign investors had shown interest in investing in tourism sector which was a positive sign.
In a press statement, Mr Jamal said foreign investment would not only boost tourism industry but also generate employment and attract international expertise.
In the new tourism policy, all stakeholders have been consulted and weight given to their suggestions and recommendations, he said.
The minister said Jaffery International Group of the UK, a Saudi Arabian company and a Malaysian group had expressed the desire to invest.
The companies want to invest in hotelling, particularly in the Northern Areas, amusement parks and even in infrastructure, he added.
APP ADDS: The government is utilizing all possible resources at its disposal to boost tourism industry to attract foreign investment during the year 2005-06.
Efforts are afoot to facilitate tourists by building hospitals, hotels and motels at various tourists’ destinations across the country, it was officially learnt.
Money is being invested in this sector to develop state-of- the-art infrastructure and better communication facilities, and in this regard the government has joined hands with the private sector.
Besides, tourism information centres have been established both within as well as outside the country which disseminate information on fabulous tourist attraction sites and also guide tourists.
Considering the importance of media and publicity, the government will involve mass media for promoting tourism and projecting rich cultural heritage of the country.
The government is also in close contact with those countries that have developed tourism industry on proper basis in order to get their expertise and services.
In this regard, Malaysia and Tunisia have offered both services and expertise.
Tourism is the second largest industry in Malaysia after manufacturing while Tunisia attracts around six million tourists annually.
Joint efforts are also underway with Turkey to promote tourism in Pakistan as the tourism ministers of both countries would hold discussions on ways to increase the ongoing bilateral cooperation when they meet during a meeting of Joint Tourism Commission on July 26-27.
The tourism ministry has reduced the royalty fee by 50 per cent for climbing mountains above 6,500 metres located in Pakistan.
The new tourism policy is to be announced soon which will help tourism industry generate billions of dollars.
The tourism ministry is taking practical steps to boost this industry by facilitating tourists, easy procedures for visa, preservation of archaeological sites of non-Muslims and excavation of new ones.
A sum of Rs30.841 million has been allocated under the Public Sector Development Programme for two new and five ongoing projects of the tourism division.
The amount will be utilized for development of a website and upgradation of tourism research publications at a cost of Rs5 million and Rs2 million, respectively.
A sum of Rs17.119 million has been allocated for construction of a motel at Baran Kalay and Rs3.422 million for another motel at Boomi, Chitral.
Owing to a number of steps taken by the government, the tourism industry is poised to attract huge foreign investment during this year.
Meanwhile, the tourism ministry would update its research publications to better inform the tourists about Pakistan’s different tourist sites.
In view of the modern trends and proposals received by the ministry, the project was being initiated to disseminate maximum information about historical and beautiful places of the country.
The plan, a ministry official said, would be a step forward in promoting the country’s tourism industry.
“The increasing number of foreign tourists visiting Pakistan, about 648,000 in 2004, is a testimony to the fact that the tourism industry is taking off,” he added.
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