KP govt to hand over five more resthouses to tourism dept

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has decided to handover five more rest houses to the provincial tourism authority for the promotion of tourism in the province.

According to Chief Minister’s Adviser Kamran Bangash, the provincial cabinet has approved the outsourcing and online booking of five rest houses in Galyat.

The rest houses include Speaker Himalaya Rest House, Police IG House, Karnak House, while the remaining two rest houses — Governor House and Chief Minister’s House — will be handed over to the tourism authority after renovation, he added.

The KP government had earlier announced to hand over all 169 government rest houses in the province to the tourism authority aimed to offer better accommodation to national and foreign tourists.

Under this plan, several government rest houses at different tourist destinations have already been handed over to the tourism department.

The tourism authority would earn millions of rupees for the national exchequer by using these rest houses for tourism, Adviser Kamran Bangash informed.

Earlier, these rest houses were under the use of the different government departments and were only used by the government officials, he added.

The advisor said despite spending millions of rupees annually on the renovation of government rest houses, there was no income generated from them.

Besides,  the provision of essential funds for the promotion of tourism, the provincial cabinet has approved construction of the 48km Kalam-Kamrat Road, 52km Thal-Patrak Road, and 14km Thal-Jazbanda Road.

Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan had said Pakistan’s soft image can only be portrayed through the promotion of tourism, which would not only generate revenue but also provide employment opportunities.

Presiding over a meeting of the National Coordination Committee on Tourism in Islamabad, the prime minister said that Pakistan is blessed with different climatic zones and numerous untapped tourist spots. He said the government is focused on eco-tourism to ensure environmental conservation while managing tourist spots.

The prime minister said the federal government would provide all possible facilitation to the provincial governments for the development and promotion of the tourism sector in the country.