PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Thursday announced to establish four Integrated Tourism Zones that would be helpful in the promotion of the tourism industry in the province.
The decision was taken in a meeting chaired by senior minister for tourism, sports archaeology, sports and Youth Affairs Muhammad Atif Khan. The four zones will be established at Thandyani Abbottabad, Mankyal in Swat, Ghanool in Manshera, and Madak Lasht in Chitral.
KP government believes that these Integrated Tourism Zones would not only serve to showcase tourism potential of the country and promote tourism but would also ensure the preservation of natural beauty, biodiversity, forests cover and promotion of eco-tourism at the newly established tourist resorts.
The senior minister has directed the concern officials to immediately start work on the tourism zones. During the meeting, the senior minister also approved the construction of five roads in the scenic valleys. These roads include 67 km Kalam-Kumrat road, 47 km Pathral- Thal road, 23 km Mankiyal- Badai road, 14 Kumrat- Jaz Banda road and 45 Km Sheshaka- Madak Lasht road.
The senior minister said that the construction of roads in scenic valleys will be helpful in the promotion of tourism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
During the meeting, the plan of promoting religious tourism in the province was also discussed. It was informed that under the plan digital museums will be established in different cities of the province and religious archaeological sites, especially Gandhara civilization sites, will be preserved and promoted to attract foreign tourists.
The decision of establishing the Tourism zones was taken by Prime Minister Imran Khan in a meeting on April 10, 2019. It was decided that a total of 11 Integrated Tourism Zones would be established in the country out of which 4 will be established in KP while the remaining will be formed in Punjab province.
