ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) has taken various measures to promote tourism in Pakistan by projecting and marketing the country’s history, culture, arts, cuisine, and landscape is expecting to achieve a boom in the tourism sector.
This was stated by the PTDC Managing Director, Aftabur Rehman Rana, while addressing the concluding session of two weeks training workshop for the tour organisers and groups.
He said that after realising the growth potential of the tourism sector in the country, the PTDC initiated devising policies, strategies and frameworks to attract tourists coming from various parts of the country and the world.
A two-week training workshop organised by the PTDC to improve the knowledge and skills of tour guides about tourist destinations, tour group management, communication skills, and professional handling of all the aspects of tours, customer service and operational best practices, concluded here on Friday.
He said there was a shortage of trained tour guides in Pakistan, and to fill that gap, the PTDC had launched a National Tour Guides Training Programme.
Under the initiative, some 1,000 tour guides from all over Pakistan would be trained in one year, and for the purpose, the PTDC would organise a series of tour guides training workshops in all the provincial capitals in collaboration with provincial tourism departments and the private sector.
“Pakistan is rich with cultural heritage and potential for immense tourism due to its unmatched landscape, natural beauty, diverse culture, and cuisine,” he said.
“PTDC was representing the country by organizing domestic and international events and exhibitions for assisting tourists with the provision of transport and accommodations facilities within the country.”
“The incumbent government has taken many initiatives to promote and revive the tourism industry to explore historical sites to yield desirable results in this sector.”
About 24 trainees from different parts of Pakistan participated in the First National Tour Guide Training Programme, which commenced on March 18 in collaboration with the Department of Tourist Services (DTS), Sustainable Tourism Foundation Pakistan (STFP), College of Tourism and Hotel Management (COTHM), Pakistan Association of Tour Operators (PATO) and Legend Hotels, a news release said.
International and national trainers and experts of the tourism industry conducted the training. Certificates were distributed among the trainees at the successful conclusion of the training.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023