Outbound

Pakistan Tourism keen on India

Anupama Sushil - New Delhi

With the political setup in India and Pakistan stable at the moment, the tourism initiatives are back on course. Speaking to Express TravelWorld, Dr Shahzad Qaiser, secretary, ministry of tourism, government of Pakistan, at a leading travel exhibition said that the Pakistan tourism ministry has noted the immense potential both the countries hold together and plan to exhibit different products every year from now on.

He further added that several other initiatives are now being undertaken by the Pakistan tourism ministry which intends to invite operators and agents to participate in travel marts in Pakistan.This would enable a closer interaction between the two nations and open areas for working more closely.

Qaiser also remarked that though not many private tour operators and only the leading ones had participated in this year's fair, the number is sure to increase in the coming years. "There is really no obstacle in encouraging and pursuing health and tourism in volumes between both countries," he admitted.

Meanwhile in Pakistan the new tourism policy is being made and many new initiatives are being worked upon for attaining the goals of Vision 2030. The policy will focus on intra-regional tourism with emphasis on the South-East Asian region. As per the Vision 2030, they also intend to work towards various joint tourism projects within the region, he stated.

A Pakistan international tourism conference, A Buddhist conference and a mountain conference are the three major events lined up for later this year, which are aimed at taking the tourism efforts a step forward.