ISLAMABAD: A tourism expert with twenty-year experience in hospitality sector passionately called upon the government to give due attention to the industry’s allied sectors for achieving the economic growth and social well-being of the citizens.

“Allied sectors of the tourism industry such as hospitality, transportation, travel agencies and tour operators need alignment since they are completely fragmented in the country,” said Executive Member of Pakistan Tourism Development Endowment Fund Qamar Abbas.

Talking to APP, he said around 2,000 tour operators were working across the country, but “there contribution to the tourism industry is nil.” Therefore, it was imperative for the tourism industry to take forward the allied sectors all along.

He underlined the need for imparting trainings to hotels staffers for ensuring effective implementation of the national minimum standards, which would eventually attract more foreign tourists.

Mentioning the ground-breaking of a five star hotel in Chitral, he said the private sector was turning a new page in the history of Pakistan after taking the government’s seriousness for tourism promotion into account.

He termed 2021 as an ascending year for tourism sector as more than 30 projects for quality hotels were in pipeline.

Qamar Abbas believed that the government was ready to fetch multi-billion dollars business from its multi-faceted tourism sector once the world was opened up and global travel restrictions were relaxed.

He appreciated the government for constituting a tourism coordination board to strengthening liaison among the provinces vis-à-vis tourism promotion.

Religious and adventure tourism had immense potential to earn foreign exchange reserve in the country, he said while lauding the government’s efforts for setting up a Buddhist trail and skiing resorts in the northern parts of the country.

He also stressed over the role of social media influencers in promoting the country as one of the best tourist destinations in the world.