Monitoring Desk

Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Friday that Pakistan had amazing unexplored tourist destinations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Northern Areas and there was a huge gap to explore new dimensions like mountain tourism and skiing.

While talking to the audiences at the launching and partnership signing ceremony of ‘Travel Responsibility for Experiencing Eco Tourism (TREK)’ among the KP, World Bank and Nestle Pakistan, he said that Switzerland even being half of KP was earning $80 billion annually through skiing only while Pakistan’s total annual exports income was around $ 25 billion.

TREK is all about the promotion of Eco Tourism in KP including responsible tourism, waste collection and management and recycling activities.

The prime minister appreciated KP Chief Minister Mehmood Khan and said that the initiative like Eco Tourism would contribute to the economic development of the country creating more job opportunities for the youth.

He also said that tourist sites especially in Naran and Nathiagali were in bad condition due to unplanned encroachments.

He hoped that several tourist sites including Kumrat Valley could be saved now with the help of TREK initiative. He added that the initiative would also educate the local dwellers to look after the cleanliness of the tourist sites.

He further said that the addition of cable car at Kumrat Valley would further enhance the beauty of the area and attract more tourists.

The prime minister added that while constructing new roads, and other infrastructure in tourist sites and areas, the protection of environment should be kept in mind.