Tag: Tourism

  • Double-decker bus makes trial drive between twin cities

    Double-decker bus makes trial drive between twin cities

    A test trial of double Decker bus service was conducted in Rawalpindi and Islamabad on the special orders of Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar.

    According to details, the Punjab Tourism Development Corporation with the coordination of Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) initiated a test drive of double-decker bus service on the occasion of Independence Day, celebrated across Pakistan yesterday.

    The bus service is expected to start next week in twin cities. The goal of the service is to promote tourism, to invite local and foreign tourists to enjoy the culture and scenery of the twin cities.

    Advisor to CM Punjab for Horticulture and Tourism Asif Mehmood said, “The Tourism Development Corporation Punjab (TDCP) will operate the buses,” adding the construction work of the main terminal at Allama Iqbal Park double road is now in the final stage.

    At first, two buses will be operated and local people can benefit from this plan, he added.

    In Islamabad, the tourists can visit different tourist spots including Faisal Mosque, Marghrzar Zoo, Daman-e-Koh, Constitution Avenue, Lok Virsa, Pakistan Museum of Natural History and Shakarparian through this bus service.

  • KP govt to launch world’s longest, highest cable car project

    KP govt to launch world’s longest, highest cable car project

    The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has decided to set up a 14-kilometre long cable car, which will connect the scenic tourist resort of Kumrat in Upper Dir with Madaklasht area of Chitral.

    According to a statement by the KP government, the decision was taken in a meeting of the tourism department, chaired by Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and attended by Tourism Secretary Mohammad Abid Majeed and other senior officials.

    The meeting gave go ahead to the department to make a detailed feasibility study and engineering design of the project.

    The statement said that the cable car project would be the longest and highest of its kind in the world. After completion, it was likely to appeal to eight million foreign and local tourists to the province and create employment opportunities.

    The project would have car parking facilities on both the stations. It will also have an intermediate station with a restaurant and many other facilities. The project will be completed in five to six months.

     “The proposed cable car will be built on international standards which, on completion, would attract foreign and local tourists in a large number. The project is environment-friendly and feasible on the grounds that no land acquisition process is involved therein,” said the statement.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nk0w4Hg1BTE
  • Pakistan to host World Tourism Forum 2021

    Pakistan to host World Tourism Forum 2021

    Special Assistant to the PM for Overseas Pakistanis Chairman National Tourism Board, Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari has announced that World Tourism Forum 2021 will be held in Pakistan.

    Speaking to a private news channel, the PM’s aide said that it will be a five-day event with over 1,000 foreign visitors expected to attend the event.

    “The World Tourism Forum will have three days for conference and two days for tourism”, revealed the SAPM.

    He added that the event had been planned for this year but postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

    Bukhari further said that over 32 new three-star to four-star hotels will be constructed in Pakistan in the next two years. He said that the government will renovate PTDC buildings and motels across the country to boost tourism.

    The minister said that the government had shut down Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) operations to restructure it.

    “We are making changes in PTDC to restructure it in accordance with global best practices,” he stated.

    Earlier, Bukhari had said the government would be bringing reforms in the PTDC rather than closing it down.

    The World Tourism Forum is an organisation based in Istanbul, Turkey dedicated to developing tourism around the world with its annual meetings.

  • Temporary visit turned all-time love, tourist doesn’t want to leave Pakistan

    Temporary visit turned all-time love, tourist doesn’t want to leave Pakistan

    A UK citizen Stephen David Sheen, who visited Pakistan as a temporary destination on his way to India, where his cousins live, ended up staying here because of the country’s hospitality. He has been living in Pakistan for the past decade.

    Popularly known as Steve among his students, Sheen is currently serving as a school Principal in Khairpur, Sindh.

    In an interview with Independent Urdu, Sheen said that he made a plan for a train trip to Europe and then to India in 2010. He first visited Turkey from where he took a train to Iran and finally to Pakistan. He stayed in Quetta for the initial time before going to Karachi, and from there to Khairpur.

    Steve has learned to speak fluent Sindhi and teaches Mathematics, Physics, and English to the students of Sojhro Faiz High School. The school is now famously known as the ‘Angrez ka School’ among the locals in Khairpur.

    He had volunteered to teach at the school for one summer camp but decided to stay and teach its students permanently.

    Steve mentioned that everywhere around the globe, people make money off tourism, but in Pakistan, the hospitality of the people doesn’t allow them to earn because here, people present him with free food, accommodation, and travel.

    On learning Sindhi, Steve mentioned that when he first arrived in Khairpur, he was invited to an Eid dinner. Everyone at the dinner party was talking to each other in Sindhi, and he felt isolated. That is when he decided to learn the language and now he speaks it fluently.

    Other than teaching and running a school, Sheen also enjoys woodwork. He makes wooden tables and chairs, and some of his students also join him in this activity from time to time.

  • Tourists in India forced to write ‘sorry’ 500 times for violating coronavirus lockdown

    Ten foreigners who broke a coronavirus lockdown in an Indian town made famous by the Beatles were forced to repent by writing “I am so sorry” — 500 times, according to reports.

    The nationwide lockdown was imposed near the end of March, with residents permitted to leave their homes only for essential services such as buying groceries and medicine.

    The travellers — from Israel, Mexico, Australia and Austria — were caught taking a walk in Rishikesh, where the Beatles sought spirituality at an Ashram in 1968.

    Local police officer Vinod Sharma said they were each made to write “I did not follow the rules of lockdown so I am so sorry” 500 times.

    More than 700 foreign tourists from the US, Australia, Mexico and Israel staying in the area had flouted the lockdown rules, Sharma said, adding the unusual punishment was handed out to teach them a lesson.

    Police said they would direct hotels in the area to allow foreign guests to step out only if accompanied by local helpers.

    Establishments that did not follow the order could face legal action, Sharma said.

    Police have come up with unusual methods to encourage people to stay home to halt the spread of the deadly disease, including wearing coronavirus-shaped helmets.

    But officers in some states were also seen in videos on social media beating drivers on roadsides and making people out and about during lockdown do squats and leapfrogs as punishment.

    Some states have already extended the restrictions.

    On Sunday, India had registered more than 8,300 coronavirus cases and 273 deaths from the disease.

  • UK permits its citizens to travel to Pakistan’s northern areas

    UK permits its citizens to travel to Pakistan’s northern areas

    The United Kingdom has permitted its citizens to travel to tourist spots in Pakistan’s northern areas, due to the better security situation of the country.

    The announcement was made by the British High Commissioner to Islamabad Dr. Christian Turner. 

    This is the first main update in the UK travel advisory since 2015 following the return of British Airways to Pakistan in June 2019 and the royal visit of Prince William and Kate Middleton in October 2019.

    The announcement is the “result of a comprehensive review of UK travel advice for Pakistan, based on a wide-ranging assessment of the country’s security situation,” reads a statement published on the British government website.

    “Among other changes, the advice now allows for travel by road to the North of Pakistan as well as the Kalesh and Bamboret Valleys.”

    High Commissioner Turner appreciated the Government of Pakistan for providing a better security environment over the past years.

    “Following my arrival in December 2019, I made this review of the travel advice a priority. I am delighted that British nationals will be able to see more of what Pakistan has to offer,” he said.

  • Pakistan among Forbes’ ‘best under-the-radar’ tourist spots in 2020

    Pakistan among Forbes’ ‘best under-the-radar’ tourist spots in 2020

    American business magazine Forbes has listed Pakistan as one of the ten must-visit destinations for those who’re looking for something offbeat. Other countries on the list include Armenia, Chad, Eritrea, Guatemala, Mongolia and Saudi Arabia.

    “Closed countries are opening up. Savvy luxury agencies are making remote destinations accessible to travelers who don’t want to rough it or risk much,” read the magazine.

    It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan also topped Conde Nast Traveler’s list of best holiday destinations for 2020. Pakistan is undoubtedly full of natural beauty and its diverse culture attracts local as well as international tourists.

  • KP govt approves Rs 700 million for tourism police

    Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Mahmood Khan has approved Rs 700 million budget for the formation of tourism police in the province. The decision was taken to promote tourism in the province.

    The tourism police, consisting of 500 personnel, will protect tourists and tourist spots across the province.

    The decision was taken in a meeting on tourism promotion in the province.

    During the meeting, it was also decided to start the KP Tourism Authority, as well as outsource Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation’s devolved assets. Construction of hotels around tourism spots was also discussed.

    CM Mahmood also approved Rs 500 million for the ‘Home Cities Project’ set to be built at three scenic tourist spots.

    Moreover, Rs 500 million was allocated for marketing scenic tourist destinations to attract tourists.

  • Tourists from 50 countries can now avail visa on-arrival

    Tourists from 50 countries can now avail visa on-arrival

    To boost the tourism industry and foreign investment, the government has announced a new visa policy encouraging the tou­rists from 50 countries to avail visa-on-arrival facility.

    The visa-on-arrival facility was previously available to nationals of 25 countries only. As per reports, Sikhs holding Canadian and British passports would be allowed to avail of the offer and the e-visa facility will also be provided to the citizens of 175 countries.

    While talking to the media Vice Chairperson Overseas Pakistanis Commission Ch Waseem Akhtar said that the country is progressing due to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s “public-friendly economic policies” and that “major steps” are being taken to promote tourism.

    He added that the promotion of tourism is the need of the hour and the issuance of on-arrival visa to 50 countries by the government of Pakistan is a breakthrough and this will not only portray the soft image of Pakistan but will also bring foreign exchange and investment into the country.

    The plan to introduce on-arrival visa was first revealed in December 2018 by Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood. The minister had stated that the government was considering initiating a visa-on-arrival facility for almost 55 countries to strengthen the tourism sector of Pakistan.

  • VIDEO: Jahangir Tareen rescues sick British tourist in Gilgit on private helicopter

    VIDEO: Jahangir Tareen rescues sick British tourist in Gilgit on private helicopter

    Former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) secretary-general, disqualified Jahangir Khan Tareen, has flown a sick British tourist out of Fairy Meadows National Park in his private helicopter.

    Fairy Meadows, named by German climbers and locally known as Joot, is a grassland near one of the basecamp sites of Nanga Parbat, located in Diamer district of Gilgit-Baltistan.

    According to the details of the incident, a British tourist on Wednesday fell unconscious after her health deteriorated during a camping trip in Fairy Meadows. Tareen, who was also present in the area as part of his trip to Gilgit-Baltistan, brought the sick tourist back to the airport in his helicopter.

    The woman was later shifted to a nearby hospital while a video of the rescue has gone viral over the internet.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    FUEL FOR TAREEN’S CHARTERED FLIGHT:

    Meanwhile, Tareen’s trip to the country’s northernmost territory has been marred by controversy regarding the fuel for his chartered flight from Gilgit City to Skardu.

    In a letter addressed to the Skardu deputy commissioner (DC) by the general manager operations of Princely Jets — Pakistan’s first private charter jet operator — three barrels (600 litres) of JP-1 fuel have been requested for Tareen’s helicopter.

    https://twitter.com/Psfkami/status/1176870816199446528

    Even though the letter does not appear to be in violation of any rules, netizens argue the need for a private company’s general manager “to request acquisition of government fuel from an official for Tareen’s chartered flight”.