HP Newsroom
Islamabad: Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) organized four consultative workshops from August 24 to August 27 to get input from all the concerned stakeholders. Aftab ur Rehman Rana, Managing Director of PTDC chaired these sessions and more than 60 key stakeholders including public sector departments and agencies, private sector organizations, tourism and hospitality trade association, non-profit associations and clubs, media outlets, and academia participated in these consultative workshops and shared their input and recommendations for the formulation of the Integrated Tourism Development plan for Islamabad.
Mr. Rana in the presentation about the purpose of the consultation process informed that the capital city of Islamabad is ranked as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It is also famous as the gateway tourist destination as all the foreign and domestic tourists going to the mountains areas in the north pass through this city. He informed that the city is not only famous for its lush green landscape but it is also home to several places of tourist interest. In order to fully utilize the rich potential of tourism available in the area of Islamabad Capital Territory, there is a need to develop an Integrated Tourism Development Plan for the capital city of Islamabad to ensure eco-friendly growth of tourism and support government efforts for employment generation and sustainable economic growth.
He said that the present government is committed to develop the tourism sector in all the regions of Pakistan and work on different projects is going on to develop regional tourism development strategies and plans and the process of formulation of a tourism plan for Islamabad will greatly help in the overall development of tourism in the county.
Later, the discussion was held on the themes of the development of tourism infrastructure, protection of the natural environment and cultural heritage, development of tourism products, quality assurance and standardization in tourism services and facilitation, investment promotion in tourism and hospitality sector, marketing and promotion, better destination management, funding mechanism, and improved coordination among the various department, agencies and organizations were also discussed in the workshop. All the participants fully participated in the discussion and shared their views and ideas for the development of a comprehensive tourism plan for Islamabad. Based on the input received in these consultative sessions, the team of PTDC will draft a tourism plan for Islamabad Capital City and share it with the federal government for its approval and implementation.
