A consultative meeting was held under the Chairmanship of Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari SAPM on OP & HRD/Chairman National Tourism Coordination Board (NTCB)/PTDC will all Provincial/Regional Governments to discuss appropriate time to re-open tourism sector of the country. The meeting was attended by Advisor on Tourism to CM Punjab Mr. Asif Mehmood, Managing Director PTDC, all Provincial and Regional Tourism Secretaries and Mr. Aftab Ur Rehman Rana member NTCB/PTDC Board.
The Chair appreciated the support extended by Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by extended relaxation to tourism businesses in renewal/registration fee. He urged other Provincial Giverenments to consider similar support initiatives for businesses that suffered substantially during current COVID situation. The meeting also deliberated on safety measures and preparedness for re-opening tourism services in the country. All provincial and regional governments apprised that tourism related SOPs for tour operators, hotels, restaurants and tourist places were ready. It was opined that time is ripe for tourism sector to restart as COVID-19 curve was flattening in the country; however the situation needed to be closely observed during Eid and the Muharram. The participants also discussed various options such as phased or complete reopening of the sector but consensus was that final date of reopening be deliberated upon and decided by NCOC. Meanwhile necessary preparations and awareness be undertaken so that opening of controlled tourism under SOPs could be swirly undertaken.
It was decided that a proposal in this regard shall be submitted to the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) for consideration of reopening of tourism industry after Eid ul Azdha. The NCOC is expected to consider the proposal and announce the exact date for reopening of tourism in the country.
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