ISLAMABAD, Jan 22: The government’s efforts to promote tourism would not bear fruits unless communication problems of the areas having tourism potentials were resolved on a priority basis.

“The much-trumpeted ‘Destination Pakistan 2007’ celebrations would be a futile exercise if the government did not ensure smooth communication facilities, especially air travel to tourists,” stated people from Chitral living in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

Talking to Dawn on Sunday, they called upon the government to solve communication problems of the valley by operating direct flights from the federal capital to the district which remains cut off from rest of the country in winter.

They said in winter PIA flights became the only source of communication for them. However, as the national flag carrier operated flights to the valley only from Peshawar, people living in the twin cities as well as in other parts of the country faced a great deal of hardships.

“When the Lowari pass closes at the outset of winter, reservation of a PIA seat for Chitral becomes a daunting task. One has to reach Peshawar twenty-four hours before the flight. As the flights are operated subject to weather, most of them are cancelled and the passengers remain stranded in the provincial capital,” they said.

In such a situation, women, children and the elderly suffer the most as they cannot venture to travel via the Kunar province of Afghanistan due to security concerns.

They demanded that besides Peshawar the government should operate direct flights to Chitral from Islamabad as well.

This would not only lessen the hardships of passengers but would also facilitate foreign tourists who visit the valley in a large number particularly during the Shandur Polo Festival in July each year.

The operation of C-130 aircraft on the Chitral-Peshawar route after grounding of the Fokker has greatly relieved the passengers of the troubles associated with the winter closure of the valley. They said the government should ensure that the C-130 service continued uninterrupted till introduction of the ATR planes to avoid passengers backlog.

The ATR planes have also started trial run on the route and would soon be inducted into the PIA fleet replacing the C-130s. However, the French aircraft has the capacity to carry half the number of passengers of the C-130.

They said inclement weather was mainly responsible for most of the flight cancellations. However, they appreciated the efforts of the PAF crew of C-130 planes in minimising the chances of flight cancellation on Peshawar-Chitral route this year.