Public private partnership to be encouraged in tourism sector

AJK government has inked an integrated plan to promote tourism industry in the picturesque liberated territory with the collaboration of the private sector, official sources said.
The plan involve launching of various projects through private-public partnership, the sources told APP here on Thursday adding that the government has decided to give attractive package of incentives for the entrepreneurs intending to float investment in the tourism sector in the area.
Since, wide-scale bright potential is available for the promotion of tourism in AJK, the AJK government is all set to utilise this potential for the uplift of the tourism industry through pointing out various attractive tourism-oriented spots in the area, the sources said.
The state government has decided to offer basic facilities to the intending private investor besides to improve the required infrastructure for the promotion of tourism in the area. The plan would also open new areas of jobs for the unemployed educated, skilled and unskilled youth thus reducing the current unemployment rate in the area to a greater extent.
In the first phase of the plan the state government has decided to involve the entrepreneurs from among the local population and the overseas Kashmiris seeking investment in various tourism projects including construction of hotels and motels. The government has also decided to develop various tourist resorts on various top mountainous locations and other hill stations in AJK.
The government has also decided to preserve and safeguard the archeology including the centuries old historic resorts located in various parts of AJK, aimed at not only to protect the centuries-old heritage of Jammu and Kashmir in the liberated area but also to make them more attractive for the tourists both from home and abroad, the sources said.
Meanwhile, the AJK government has chalked out another tourism related development plan in the quake-hit AJK through the reconstruction of the AJK tourism-department-run hotels, motels and rest houses and hill resorts, perished in October 2005 deadly earthquake.