PESHAWAR, July 13: The Lal Masjid tragedy, coupled with the deployment of combat forces in the Malakand region, has proved to be a stumbling block to the tourism industry as well as overall economy of the area mostly dependent on tourism.

Information gathered from different parts of the region, particularly Swat district, has revealed that the tourism season, which begins in July every year, has started this time amid lukewarm response from the tourists.

Tourism industry people attributed the declining trend to the Lal Masjid episode and deployment of heavily-armed security forces in the region which, they felt, were likely to launch a crackdown against hardliners in Swat.

The government last week had started deploying heavy military contingents for the first time in the region popular for its scenery stunning landscapes, snow-capped mountains, fertile fields, waterfalls and majestic mountains.

Tourism is the backbone of the region’s economy and more than 800 hotels and rest houses are situated in Swat district, attracting majority of local and foreign tourists.

The tourism season this year depicts altogether a different picture as the flow of even local tourists has dropped drastically which brought economic activities in the region to a standstill.

Ayub Khan, owner of a hotel in Mingora, told Dawn that he had reservations of at least eight parties, including some from other countries, well before the start of current tourism season. But, he said that after the Lal Masjid operation and deployment of military forces in the region, all his clients had cancelled their reservations. He said that tourism was the engine of the local economy because it supported a number of allied seasonal businesses.

The Malakand region has immense potential for the promotion of tourism industry, but over the last one decade the security situation did not allow the authorities as well as the private sector to capitalise on such advantages.

The region, which had witnessed a violent movement of the Tehreek Nifaz-i-Shariat-i-Muhammadi (TNSM) in 1994, has again hit the headlines. Combat forces have been sent to the region reportedly to flush the hardliners out of the area.