Plan to celebrate 2006 as 'Visit Pakistan' year

Pakistan has planned to celebrate 2006 as "Visit Pakistan" year, projecting soft image of the country to attract maximum number of tourists. Sources in the Tourism Ministry told Business Recorder on Saturday that under the plan, more or less twelve different tourism-related events would be arranged on monthly basis round the year.
The special tourism year is being celebrated on the instruction of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and the plan will be formulated and carried out jointly by the ministry of tourism, Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC), provincial tourism departments and private sector.
The sources said that plans for holding such events were also planned in 1999 and 2002, but due to one or another reasons they could not be materialised.
Culture, natural beauty, historical places and objects, mountains, glaciers, lakes and other tourism attractions will be projected widely under the plan, the sources added.
To attract and inform local and foreign tourists, different seminars and informative programmes will be held at national and international level along with media campaign.
The sources were of the view that some international writers and journalists would be invited on the occasion, for projecting country's real picture across the world.
To facilitate foreign and domestic tourists, special arrangements will be made in hotels and rest houses at reasonable and affordable rates.
It is also learnt that the government was considering bringing down rates of private and state-owned airlines on national and international routes, which would be helpful in facilitating more tourists.
"The mega event not only would project the soft image of the country, but also bring about economic prosperity among different segments of the society", an official in the ministry opined.
Presently, the tourism ministry and its allied partners are engaged in sorting out feasible layout for the proposed events, which will take at least half a year to be finalised.
The sources further said that the government has recently allowed facility of 72 hours (3 days) landing permit without visa to those Japan nationals who come here through any authorised Japanese or Pakistani tour operator.
They added that if any Japanese national wants to stay more than three days in Pakistan, he/she has to get visa after expiry of the given concession.
The special concession is given to Japan because of not being among the Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) countries, like the UK, US, India, Afghanistan etc, whereas China has already been granted this concession.