ISLAMABAD: “Tourists must have alternative destinations when the northern areas become inaccessible in the winter months and Pakistan possesses breathtaking assets in other provinces such as Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan.”

This was stated by newly-appointed Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Tourism Coordination Azam Jamil, who has spent four decades in Pakistan’s tourism and hospitality journey.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Jamil said he plans to sell stories along with Pakistan’s historically fascinating infrastructure, focus more on the youth that he feels are future tourists and spread tourism benefits across Pakistan.

He also said projects needed to be socially, culturally, politically and environmentally sustainable and should involve local communities wherever possible.

With 40 years of association with the industry, Mr Jamil believes that Covid-19 has brought some fundamental changes to the tourism landscape. From being luxury based it seems to have evolved into ethnic experience based and in this Pakistan has a clear advantage.

“It is also time we start selling stories along with infrastructure,” he added.

“When tourists visit the Lahore Fort, they are mostly shown the physical assets but seldom told stories associated with it. If you go down the Nile today, you will hear endless stories starting from the Pharos to Cleopatra, which makes the experience a delightful one. Tourism is always strengthened by the stories history has to offer and we do not take enough advantage of that. Our tourist guides need to be professionally trained in this area,” said the SAPM who will also head Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC)’s board.

He also believed that the youth of today were tourists of tomorrow and emphasised the importance of developing interest in tourism at the school level.

“Schools will be encouraged to instill the spirit of our history and heritage in our students who will then feel the need to visit the numerous sites Pakistan has to offer. The investment we make today will bear fruit in the future,” he said.

He also plans on training and making hospitality education accessible in all provinces. With our indigenously strong population base, domestic tourism can make a sizeable contribution to the economy. The government plans to launch some very exciting tourism initiatives in the first quarter of 2022 where the private sector will be playing the lead role, he said.

Published in Dawn, January 9th, 2022