Tag: pakistan tourism

Pakistan will allow outbound international flights to resume from Saturday, after closing its airspace to commercial flights to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. “Both national and foreign airlines shall be allowed to operate from all international airports of Pakistan,” Abdul Sattar Khokhar, Senior Joint Secretary at the Civil Aviation Authority, said in a statement. Reuters has reported that two remote airports in southern Baluchistan province will be exempted from the operations. On Friday, Pakistan reported the largest one-day spread of the infection, with 2,636 cases and 57 deaths in the last 24 hours. Pakistan has recorded a total ... Read more

A recent report of World Tourism and Travel Council anticipates Pakistan’s tourism industry has the potential to grow to around USD 40 billion within the next 10 years. The ruling government led by Imran Khan has already vowed in its election campaign that it would promote Pakistan as ‘Asia’s Best Kept Secret’ in global tourism market. The government is confident that tourism would be contributing Rs.1 trillion to Pakistan economy by 2025. Countries like Switzerland, Thailand, Philippines, Maldives and Sri Lanka demonstrate that sustainable tourism is a tool for development. The initiative of the government under the National Action Plan ... Read more

With vision to attract more tourists to the country, Pakistan government is planning to ease visa restrictions for visitors from 55 countries, including most European nations. Inbound tourism in the country has been almost dormant following the 9/11 attacks in the US. “We are reviewing our visa policies. We are trying to bring 55 countries into a visa-free region, which includes most of the European countries,” said Fawad Chaudhry, Information Minster, to the media. When Imran Khan has sworn in as the Prime Minister, he has declared that Pakistan would give priority to tourism, to explore the abundant tourism potential ... Read more

Tourism enthusiasts are hopeful about the revival of tourism in Pakistan, after Imran Khan has sworn in as the Prime Minister. In his first speech to the nation as the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan said the country have a number of God given tourist destinations and huge tourism potential. He promised to promote tourism to strengthen the country’s economy. “The government will promote and position Pakistan as Asia’s Best Kept Secret in the global tourism market in order to boost tourism,” said Raja Khurram Nawaz, a lawmaker of the ruling Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf (PTI) told media recently. He said ... Read more

Pakistan tourism has always been turbulent owing to the security issues in the country. However, a start-up named Find My Adventure is steadily drawing tourists to the country. The portal which went online on 2016 is concentrated on making travel easier for those who are exploring Pakistan. Pakistan’s tourism sector has started blooming with the improvement of security situations. As per the reports of World Travel and Tourism Council, the direct contribution of travel and tourism to GDP in 2017 was Rs 930.9 billion, constituting 2.9% of GDP. It is expected to rise by 5.9% in 2018 and Rs 1,727.7 ... Read more

Pakistan, with its improved security arrangements, has attracted 1.75 million tourists in 2017, registering a 300 per cent growth since past few years. The country recorded a significant increase in the annual tourism rate and business traveling. Domestic travelers have increased 30 per cent. According to Jovago, the top hotel booking and e-commerce website in Pakistan, hotel bookings has increased by 80-90 per cent in 2017. Recently the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) and the University of Management and Technology (UMT) Lahore signed a MoU for the sponsorship of PTDC’s publicity material including banners, website, seminars and conferences. Products and service ... Read more

The long-awaited Islamabad International Airport (IIA) is all set to begin operations for international and domestic flights on May 3, replacing the old Benazir Bhutto International Airport in twin city of Rawalpindi. Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is expected to formally inaugurate the airport. IIA is Pakistan’s largest international airport, designed for up to 15 million passengers annually in the first phase, and up to 25 million in future. Spread over 19 square kilometres, the new, Y-shaped airport is located 30km from the heart of Islamabad’s business centre, Blue Area. It will be Pakistan’s first airport to accommodate the double-deck Airbus ... Read more

The government has started implementing the policy and issuing ‘visa-on-arrival’ to foreigners from a select group of 68 countries — including the US, Russia and the UK. The visa-on-arrival facility has been introduced under the ‘business visa on arrival (BVOA) for businessmen of these countries. The BVOA facility has 30 days validity for single entry and is being issued to businessmen coming to Pakistan from business-friendly countries. Pakistan is also offering visa-on-arrival to group tourists from 24 friendly countries.