The world Tourism Day was celebrated at the Keenjher lake by the the untiring efforts of WWP Pakistan. The even was held in conjunction with the launch of tourist information center at of WWF at Keenjher lake. On 29th September
The world tourism day is celebrated annually by the United Nation’s World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) every year to promote tourist in the world. Every year countries around the world mark this day as a positive and progressive event and new resolutions at government and non government level are passed in difference countries.
In Pakistan since the eighties this day has been celebrated some time with mere a banner at the airport of in seldom years with seminars. However since the last few years tourism in Pakistan has become so scarce that the Authorities do not pay much attention to activities like this.
The WWF Pakistan took a bold step to start promoting tourism under their Indus For all program and went to Keenjher Lake in the South Eastern province of Sindh in Pakistan which is a peaceful reagon and does attract a few local tourist.
The program participants came from different villages and towns of Keti Bandar Keenjher Jhampeer Thatta. There were young school children among the participants too who presented different skids and presentation to highlight the benefits of tourism and to highlight the main theme of the world tourism day which was ?Tourism ? Linking cultures?
Among the speakers at the occasion were Mr. Ghulam Rasool Khatri the Site Manager WWF Indus For All program Thatta, Mr. Hafeezullah Ghambhir Site Manager WWF Thatta, Mr. Badar Abro, famous Travel Writer from Karachi, Mr. Rasool Bux Dars, travel writer and facilitator of tourism activities from Jhampeer, Mr. Nasir Panhwar from WWF Karachi office and Mr. Jamal Panhwar of Travel & Culture Services.
Mr. Hafeezullah Ghambhir in his opening remarks explained the idea of Indus For All program of WWF he gave details of the activities which are being done to protect the animals and to educate the local population about the animal safety and benefits of the same via touris He announced that a questionaire will be distributed among the participants to give their ideas and solutions for the subjects such as ?Security, Promotion, Animal sfety, Know how of flora & fauna etc? ?Tourism plays a very important role in promoting harmony among the people as well as the natural habitat? said Mr. Hafeezullah. The tourists who come to a place to see nature are usually termed eco tourists. This kind of tourism is growing worldwide rapidly.
Mr. Baddar Abro emphasis ed the value of visitors in the region. ?More awareness is needed for the people in Pakistan and abroad about Keenjher and its beauty so that people can turn to this region and start being part of the economy of the region? ?Do not wait for government or some third party to come and do your work, no one will come, so just get started do your part of the job and let the others follow. ? h added. Mr. Badar Abro also praised the beauty of Keenjher lake which has been sung b the philosopher and sufi poet of Sindh Shah Abdul Latif. He said he has been to all parts of Sindh and has seen many places some hard to reach and some easy but he has seen Keenjher thousands of times and very time he has enjoyed it.
In his speech Mr. Rasool Bux Dars said that the younger population must understand that the beauty of their land is normal for them to see but for outsiders it is a treasure a piece of paradise that us still unexplored. He praised the efforts of WWF Pakistan and wished that more people should come up and do activities to promote tourism in the province. He said an unknown fear was present among the people and this fear is baseless and must be annihilated by activities like this.
Mr. Nasir Panhwar gave details about the UNWTO’s world tourism day and expressed his gratitude for the participants and to have come to celebrate the world tourism day however he also mentioned that none of the government bodies and other stake holders came forward fo the even, even after several invitations. WWF Pakistan’s information center will serve as the starting point for all tourists coming to Keenjher lake. Knowledgeable guides will also be available at the site and there will also be a tuc shop and the staff will also be able to organize boats to see the virgin islands of the lake for tourists.
Mr. Jamal Panhwar of Travel & Culture Services expressed his leasure that such an even has been organized and said that the official host of the evet this year was Egypt which is not a degee better than Pakistan as both the Parymids of Egypt and Moen Jo Dar of Pakistan are from the same period and of same value and important yet Egypt received 12.8 million tourists every year whereas Pakistan hardly received 12000. He advised the children and the local population to be friendly and smile for tourists and have no fear in talking to the people who come to visit as tourists come to a place not only to see the beauty of the place but also to learn the culture and way of life of the local people.
The general tourists does not have a lot of demands all they need to security, friendliness and cleanliness in the area. Said Mr. Jamal.
Mr. Jamal expressed his gratitude to WWF for coming forward despite having no assistance from the stake holder to promote tourism in the region.
