ISLAMABAD: The Africa Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted a conference on tourism for diplomats under the chairmanship of Additional Foreign Secretary for Africa Hamid Asghar Khan.
The briefing was aimed at introducing the Pakistan Travel and Tourism Mart Expo, which will be held at Expo Centre Karachi from January 31 to February 2, 2025.
The conference was attended by Deputy Chiefs of Missions of Morocco, Somalia, Kenya, Rwanda, Turkey, Malaysia, Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan, South Africa, Azerbaijan.
Ambassadors and High Commissioners of African countries also participated in the conference.
Additional Foreign Secretary for Africa Khan was praised for the initiative of organising the conference on tourism.
The ambassadors participating in the conference said that there are numerous opportunities for tourism in Pakistan, there is a need to improve infrastructure and activate air connectivity.
Tourism has become the world's largest industry. Nature has blessed Pakistan with attractive tourist destinations consisting of high mountains as well as beautiful valleys, beaches and deserts, and tourists from all over the world are visiting Pakistan.
On this occasion, PTDC MD Aftabur Rehman Rana also gave a detailed briefing to the ambassadors about the tourism sector.
This is the first time that a large number of foreign ambassadors and diplomats participated in this consultative conference on tourism through the efforts of Hamid Asghar Khan in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On the invitation of Honorary Consul General of Ghana Omar Shahid Butt, consul generals of different countries attended the conference.
Among the participants was Consul General of Lithuania Masood Khan.
Honorary Consul General of Belarus Consul General Waleed Mushtaq and Consul General of Finland Asad Ansari were also present.
Professionals from the hospitality industry also attended the conference.
On this occasion, Asghar Khan said that our effort is to connect the world with Pakistan, after the corona epidemic, it is the effort of developing countries around the world to promote tourism.
In the United States, tourists from all over the world spend $180 billion in a year, while in France, tourism generates $80 billion every year.
Similarly, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Tunisia have made remarkable progress in the tourism sector.
Pakistan also has a lot of potential for development in the tourism sector. We have the most beautiful beaches in the world, mountains and we also have an ancient culture that can attract tourists.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024