TCKP Committed to the revival of Tourism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Pakistan as a country is gifted with enormous scenic beauty, diverse cultures and abundance of adventure sites.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa plays a vital role in hosting some of these exceptionally rich tourists attractions.

Apart from its graceful geography, the province, owns a rich cultural heritage and possesses enormous potentials for tourist to explore.

The Tourism Corporation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has in recent years been making efforts to keep the tourism industry up and running.

It has made headways in bring about positive change and improvement towards domestic tourism mobilisation within the country at a time when the overall environment was not conducive to hosting international tourists.

TCKP has been proactive even when the odds were against them in the recent past due to instability and unrest in some parts of the province.

Not only has TCKP developed further tourism opportunities but it has been realistic in its approach to keep afloat the richness of the land and the diversity within.

It appears TCKP has embarked on an extensive program to take their culture to all different parts of the country to motivate local tourist to revive their affiliation with the land that has treasured splendid memories of the recent past.

As hospitable as the land, TCKP has been providing much appreciated respite to the people by organising mega events that not only highlights Pakhtun culture and traditions but also provides an opportunity for the artisans and tourist related functionaries to show off their skills and prove their worth not only to people of the region but also demonstrate their skills to visitors coming from other parts of the country.

One can witness some serious craftsmanship at almost all the TCKP events whether it is woodcraft, lacquer art, rich colourful embroidery, jewellery etc.

To add flavour all the events are filled with absorbing music of the traditional Rabat and the colourful costumed dances such as Khattak and Chitrali.

The activities of the last three years have all been planned in a very objective manner and this is evident from the efforts put in by the TCKP management and team in either organising or participating in over forty tourism promotion events.

While most of these events were an effort to capture the attention of our very own domestic tourism potential from Punjab and Sindh, some international presence also showed their eagerness to keep the more lucrative international tourists informed and enlightened on the happenings back home.

Some of these events remain of great significance as they have developed into highly demanding annual fixtures including the Shandar Polo Festival that is held in July every year since the last many years.

While the Polo matches are the main feature of the event, it is the altitude at which these matches are being played that gains attention and admiration from world over.

Similarly the Qaqlasht Festival at Chitral, the Joshi Festival at Kalash and the Khanpur Water Sports Festival at Khanpur Lake have all become annual events and public demand seems to be the driving force behind this decision to hold the events on a regular annual basis.

This year Khanpur event also saw a record attendance of 200,000 plus visitors in just three days of festivities that included Speed Boating, Para-gliding Water Scooters, Camping, Fishing and fireworks as the main activities, while Kids play area and a host of cultural and traditional pavilions made sure everyone got their moneys worth.

The focus of all events at TCKP is to induce trail and generate tourism activity back home in a province that has very high tourism stakes in terms of economic dependency of certain communities.

Due to the vast number of attractions, the activities were spread out in a systematic way so as to accommodate almost all attraction sites and increase traffic to the subject locations.

Not only has this rotation policy provided tourists with opportunities to visit different and new places but also given hope to the people of each region that have for so long been attached to the industry frothier livelihood.

The efforts of the last three odd years has finally started to show progress as the summer season 2011 was a very positive indicator with a high number of tourists visiting the region.

The Kaghan Valley was the least affected region and continued to attract the largest number of tourist during the summer.

Naran as its main hub is fast developing into a high density zone throughout the summer and for the second year running, the need for expansion of accommodation and amenities of life has been noticed.

The overcrowded bazaars and roads are ample proof of the expansion requirements and TCKP has already started planning it with the local people and administration.

The Chairlift project between Naran and Lake Saiful Maluk is yet another indicator that bodes well for the future of tourism in the region and also speaks volumes of TCKP's commitment to providing best possible infrastructure for tourism to thrive.

The sweetest of all endeavours has been the regaining of the Swat Valley.

With no tourism activity in the valley since the last two years, the summer of 2011 brought a refreshing change in the valley with an unexpectedly high turnout of tourists.

While these are very good signs of encouragement, TCKP in its capacity is the custodians of the tourist sector in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has been equal to the surprise and ensured that all infrastructural development and restorations were complete well before the coming summer season.

This high end season in Swat during the summer also send a very loud and clear message to the rest of the world that Swat and the rest of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is again a safe heaven for tourists.

Other events that have created a stir in the tourism sector of KPK, includes the Kaghan Festival held at Naran in May 2011 and attracted over 150,000 tourists in three days.

The Huner Mela (Artisans' at Work) was again a very successfully organised event at the Nishter Hall, Peshawar with over 50 artisans from throughout the province displaying their skills to a very highly engaging Peshawar crowd.

The Huner-e-Hawa festival was to follow soon after as TCKP renewed its commitment for provision of opportunities to female artisans of the province.

This was an event of immense importance as it was a 'ladies only' event and provided skilful females of the province a platform to exhibit their skills and products and look towards bigger markets for the future.

The Abaseen Ferry was also launched in May 2011 at the Kund Rest House, on the River Kabul near Attock.

The induction of the Ferry service was of great pride as it was an addition to the existing host of attractions and the honourable Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mr Ameer Haider Khan Hoti inaugurated the service.

The Ferry service is yet another proof of the vision and seriousness of Mr Muhammad Azam Khan, Former Secretary Tourism KPK.

In order to take the message of hope and brotherhood through tourism to other parts of the country, TCKP organised numerous activities in other major cities of the country including Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore.

Islamabad was host to the bulk of activities such as Frontier Photographic Exhibition and Cultural Festival held very successfully at the Lok Virsa grounds.

The Dawn All about Lifestyle exhibition at Islamabad was another opportunity for TCKP to showcase its tourism potential to the people of Islamabad and Rawalpindi including a very high diplomatic turnout.

The Peshawar Gate stall theme still lives fresh in the hearts and mind of the people that witnessed the diversity of Pakhtun culture.

Last of the events in Islamabad saw TCKP sponsor a media cricket league (MCL) at the F-9 Park Cricket Grounds to honour the role of Media and their contribution to the positive perception development of the province.

The complete event was dedicated to the Swat Valley A Paradise Regained.

The International Dawn Travel and Tourism Show at Karachi was also a very well done display and attracted a huge following at the event.

The TCKP stall was voted as the best display and communication stall by many visitors.

TCKP has also not ignored the international perspective as international tourism is the best possible way of reviving the lost glory of the past years.

TCKP ensured active participation at two major international events of significance.

The Berlin Tourism Mart (ITB) and World Tourism Martt (WTM) in London and shared the splendours of KPK with the tour operators and tourism corporations from all across the world.

A decision that will prove fruitful in the coming future.

With the law and order situation fast improving, the show will go on as TCKP looks set on a mission and has some more attractive upcoming assignments that will certainly live up to the theme of this year's World Tourism Kay, Tourism - Linking cultures.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2012

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