MANSEHRA, Aug 17: The Sarhad Tourism Corporation (STC) is making all out efforts to save the once blooming tourism industry from complete collapse in the NWFP.

According to an official, to revive the collapsed tourism industry in the province, the

STC had been working with various organisations and banks and chocked out a strategy to provide easy loans to hotel owners in the earthquake affected areas of Hazara region.

STC Tourism Officer Sajjad Ahmad told this scribe that the Bank of Khyber and other commercialised banks would provide loans to hotel owners in Mansehra, Naran and Kaghan for the reconstruction of their damaged business outlets.

He said that the STC and provincial government were also working on a formula to waive all sorts of taxes on the hotel industry for six years in the earthquake affected areas, which would boost economic activities related to the tourism industry.

After the devastating earthquake of October 8, 2005 in Hazara and rise of militancy in Malakand region, the tourism burden had been shifted

to Murree and Nathiagali, which were alarming signs for the economy of the NWFP, he said.

Mr Ahmed said the STC had been working with the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) to reconstruct the earthquake damaged Mansehra-Naran, Jalkhad and other main roads in the region.

After militancy in Malakand, the provincial government had focused on the Hazara region for revival of tourisms industry and restoration of the economy, he added.

The STC official said that to create awareness that Naran and Kaghan areas were safe, a hiking and tracking programme had been started from August 14 from Mahandri (Balakot) and would end on August 18 at lack Saiful Muluk. Next year, a tourism orientation programme would be organised at the lack of Saiful Muluk prior to start of the tourism season in the region, he said.

According to the ministry of tourism, in 2004 about 4.8 million domestic and 36,288 foreign tourists visited Kaghan and Naran valleys and 60 per cent GDP of Mansehra district alone depended on the tourism industry.

Following the earthquake, hardly five per cent domestic and foreign tourists visited the region, which left the regional economy in shambles.

Meanwhile, a team of the STC along with crew of the Pakistan Television (PTV) was present in Mansehra, Naran and other tourist resorts in the region for the last many days to prepare a 22-episode documentary on the reformed structure of the ruined valleys.