LAHORE:Advisor to Chief Minister on Tourism Asif Mehmood chairs a meeting on three year progress review of Tourism Department.
Important steps taken according the vision of the PM for development of Tourism in Punjab. Secretary Tourism Capt (r) Mushtaq Ahmed, Additional Secretary Kalsoom Saqib, DG Archaeology Ilyas Gill, MD TDCP Tanveer Jabbar, DS Planning Waqas Ahmed attended the meeting.
During the meeting, the MD TDCP and DG Archaeology gave the briefing. The MD TDCP briefed about the important steps have been taken according to the vision of the PM for the development of tourism in Punjab. The DG Archaeology informed that Archaeological Directorate has completed about thirteen schemes in three years. He also informed that schemes which were pending for ten years include protection/restoration and upgrading of Taxila, Hiran Minar, museum galleries, mausoleums etc.
The advisor was also briefed upon Punjab’s first tourism policy, establishment of tourism department and formation of Tourism Squad in Punjab. Also, he was informed that the online portal of DTS has been activated and Punjab Tourism Application has been made operational. Regarding the provision of facilities for tourists, the advisor was informed about steps to promote religious tourism in Taxila, along with restoration of Bhai Karam Singh Gurdwara, Afghana Mosque, Rohtas Fort, Suri Gallery and others.
The officers also briefed about completion of work on projects at Tilla Joggiyan, Nandana Fort, Malot Temple, Khewra Salt Mines, Takht-e-Babri and Kallar Kahar. The TDCP official briefed about new routes of sightseeing bus which were launched in Rawalpindi and Bahawalpur. Apart from that, the department has also initiated training programme of 3,000 students for tourism marketing, the official informed. The advisor said, revolutionary steps have been taken to promote tourism in Punjab.
In the past, no special attention was paid to the tourism sector, he added. The World Bank’s tourism project is also helping to develop the tourism sector, Adviser to the Chief Minister. He further said, seasonal tourism is also under great consideration by the department for destination sites as Punjab has immense potential in tourism sector. The advisor directed the departments to fully maintain the archaeological and tourist sites so that tourists may be facilitated properly.