Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) motels at different northern areas Naran Kaghan, Hunza, Sust, Gilgit, Ayubia, Skardu, have been re-opened for tourists after a long duration. According to an official of PTDC tourists can visit at these motels to enjoy the summers along with their families and friends. The tourist staying in PTDC Motels will be provided special discounted facilities to enjoy the summer season.
Skardu Motel with over 600 rooms has now become the largest chain of motels and restaurants in Pakistan, he said. PTDC motels were constructed to meet two primary objectives firstly to open up new areas for tourism and set the pace for the private sector to follow, secondly to initiate socio-economic development of the area, he added. PTDC has been fortunate to meet with the objectives and presents an accessible and affordable facility at the most picturesque sites nature has to offer, he added.
Playing a role of pioneer and trend setter, PTDC Motels have always opened up new and remote places for tourism thus bringing infrastructure (road, water, electricity, telephone etc) facilities and employment opportunities at the door-step of the local communities. PTDC Motels would lead the road towards prosperity and development, he maintained. There has been a steady increase in domestic tourism with 38.3 million local tourists reported by the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation in the last year. Managing Director PTDC Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor said that one factor is the improvement of roads in mountain areas, which have made accessibility to tourist resorts easier, said a press release.
He said that majority of Pakistan’s tourism assets are located in mountainous areas, adding that road improvements along the Kaghan Valley, and most recently, the pavement of metal road all the way to Babusar Top leading to Chilas, led so many tourists using this passageway this season to go to Gilgit and Hunza that the locals of these areas were overwhelmed.
Chaudhry Ghafoor said that a large number of tourists, especially domestic tourists, had been booking their motels and rest houses at various tourists resorts such as Murree, Nathiagali, Ayubia, Bhurban Patriata, Abbottabad, Swat, Naran, Kaghan, Shogran, Rawalkot, Neelum Valley, and Gilgit-Baltistan. He said that Pakistan’s tourism is beginning to prosper once again as the annual arrivals in the country are tripling since 2013, adding that this was also reported by Bloomberg, a leading business reporting network.
