ISLAMABAD: Gilgit-Baltistan’s Minister for Tourism, Sports, Culture, Archaeology, and Youth Affairs Raja Nasir Ali Khan said on Tuesday that there was no plan to impose ban on tourism sector in the region as serious efforts were being made to implement the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to curb the coronavirus spread.
“We are allowing tourists to GB and currently no plan is under consideration to impose ban on tourism, ” said Raja Nasir who pointed out revival of the GB’s tourism, affected last year due to coronavirus related travel curbs.
“Tourism comes back in scenic Gilgit Baltistan (GB) where so far up to 700, 000 local and foreign tourists thronged during the ongoing summer season to enjoy its mesmerizing weather and eye-catching mountainous terrain, ” Raja Nasir told reporter in an exclusive talk.
The significant surge in tourists’ footfall in GB as compared to the last year had helped the sector revive, he added.
The statistics shared by the minister was of the last three months, as tourism season started this year after Eid-ul-Fitr when the restrictions on the sector lifted, provided that the anti-coronavirus standard operating procedures (SOPs) would be observed in letter and spirit at all tourist destinations.
National Command and Operation Centre has recently declared vaccination certificate mandatory for hotel bookings for tourists visiting Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The minister said the GB government, in collaboration with Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), was taking multiple initiatives to boost tourism by improving air access to the area.
He said PIA was operating four to five flights from various cities to GB every week, adding that negotiations were underway with Nepal and Gulf countries to start one international flight to the area as an experiment.
Nasir said short-term strategy was opted to improve infrastructure in the area, citing home stay financing as an example to meet accommodation need of tourists and empower locals through soft loans.
Road infrastructure was being upgraded, he said, adding incomplete road projects left by the previous government was being completed on war-footing to improve tourists’ access to the new and unexplored tourist sites in GB.
He said the GB government’s main focus was to promote the valley as winter sports and adventure tourism destination by arranging festivals and competitions.
Ice hockey tournament, skating and skiing competitions, and K-2 winter summit arranged last year in GB got overwhelming response from local and foreign tourists, he added.