Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Mahmood Khan has said that tourism holds the key to the economic development of the province. He said that the current provincial government is taking all the necessary steps to revive the tourism industry and that legislation is also being enacted to the same end.

Mehmood Khan said that in the last four years a lot of investment had to be directed to the tourism industry of the province to establish its mark at the international level. He said that a holistic approach was taken by the provincial government to improve the conditions of tourism industry in the province through initiating developmental and legislative measures.

He added, “we are getting positive signals from local and international investors as to their plans of investing in the province. We have created KPK Culture and Tourism Authority to the same end.” KPK government has developed Kumrat, Kalash and Upper Swat in the last four years as potential tourism spots.

It has also introduced Tourism Police to ensure the safe passage of tourists through the region. The government is also planning to develop Ghanool, Mankyal and Madaklasht, integrated Tourism Zones in the near-future. Similarly, KPK government has installed camping pods in 11 different locations. 10 more locations will be provided with the pods in future according to government plans.

Legislation to improve the sector include KP Tourism Act 2019, and KP Government Rest Houses and Tourism properties (Development, Management and Regulation) Act 2020 among others. Additionally, Tourism, Sports, Culture, Youth Affairs, and Museums and Archaeology departments have been bifurcated into two separate departments to ensure effective management and focused efforts for boosting tourism activities in the province.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk