Managing Director (MD) Tourism Corporation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (TCKP), Mushtaq Ahmad Khan has said that concerted efforts are being made to attract more domestic and international tourists to the province.
He said that after the recent tour of Japanese tourists to the Broghul and other scenic spots in Chitral another group of tourists were coming to visit the serene valleys of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
"The TCKP and the Saiyah Travels arranged a 10-day tour for a nine-member group of the Japanese tourists to enjoy the Broghul Festival in Chitral. The tourists enjoyed every moment during their stay here and praised the steps taken for the restoration of peace and promotion of tourism in the province," he said.
He said the Japanese tourists dispelled the so-called negative impression associated with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its people and said the efforts were yielding positive results as another group of tourists from Japan is arriving to visit the scenic sites in the KP. He said that the TCKP would plan more such tours to attract the international tourists, which is a big market to bring revenue to a lot of stakeholders. He said a team of nine-member Japanese tourists headed by Chika Murata visited the province last week. The tourists included five women and four men, who really enjoyed their visit and vowed to promote the Broghul and other scenic sites that they had visited with their friends and families. He said that team leader Chika Murata had said that they found the people fun-loving, hospitable and generous.
The tourists flew from Tokyo to Islamabad and then travelled to Naran, Gupis, Mastuj, Lusht, Kishmanja, Paur village, Salt mines and Chitral city, where they also set up camps and spent nights. Last year, a Japanese team of tourists had visited Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to attend the Broghul Festival, which was sponsored by the TCKP. The trip for the Japanese tourists was arranged by a Tokyo-based travel agency Saiyu, which partner is Saiyah Travels in Pakistan. The TCKP has already signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Saiyah Travels to arrange such tours.
When the representatives of Saiyu went back to Japan they held two exhibitions at the Pakistani Embassy in Tokyo and Osaka. The aim of these exhibitions was to promote the image of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which has always been displayed very negatively by the Western media. Through pictures a softer image was portrayed of the province and especially of Shandur and Broghul festivals.
After the exhibitions many tourists contacted Saiyu to arrange tours for them to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Now another group of Japanese tourist is ready to visit KP and its scenic sites.