PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Wednesday announced to set up a tourism authority for promotion of tourism in the province.

A statement issued here said that the announcement was made by provincial senior minister for sports and tourism Mohammad Atif Khan.

“The chief minister, chief secretary and the minister for tourism will oversee the authority,” it said.

Atif Khan said that the local government and communication and works departments would also be part of the authority to ensure infrastructure and cleanliness in the tourist spots.

“The authority will explore new sites besides providing basic facilities at the existing sites,” he said.

The senior minister said that they were focused on promotion of regional tourism and later foreign tourists would be attracted to ensure revenue generation.

He claimed the Swat Expressway would be completed by December this year, which would help in promotion of tourism in the province.

He said that efforts would be made to promote tourism throughout the province, including the tribal districts.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2018