ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) has spent around Rs4 million in a year for the repair and maintenance of its different motels and facilities.

The government desires to ensure reasonable facilities to boost tourism, PTDC sources told APP here on Sunday.

Listing the steps, they said that Corporation’s restaurant at Daman-e Koh in Islamabad had been made operational again, and now PTDC was running the restaurant.

They further said that Pakistan Tourism Friends Club (PTFC) had also been launched to facilitate domestic and international tourists and to provide them better facilities while an agreement was also signed between PTDC and the University of Management and Technology (UMT) Lahore for publishing the publicity material, banners, websites, seminars, conferences and promotion of PTFC scheme.

In this connection, the sources said, UMT was providing support for the publications, club cards and annual advertisements on World Tourism Day.

They further informed that handicraft bazaars had been organised  at main PTDC motels in Naran, Gilgit, Skardu and Ayubia in connection with Independence Day celebrations, and were an another step to achieve better results.

Besides that, they added, Rawalpindi-Naran-Rawalpindi Tourist Coach Service was operated regularly during every summer, and in order to publicize this activity, its opening ceremony is held every year in the first week of June and it continues the service till August 31.

The sources said for continuous promotion of PTDC facilities and tourist attractions through social media network, PTDC and its subsidiaries were managing their unique Facebook group and pages for every motel and transport services, to publicize their new and upcoming events, special discounted packages and new facilities etc which were being widely liked by international and domestic tourists.

PTDC has also launched a SMS service to market PTDC motels and tour packages which has received an overall good response from a number of families and student groups.

The other steps was an agreement signed between PTDC and Northern Areas Transport Corporation (NATCO) to promote tourism in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) under which NATCO was providing exclusive 20 percent discount to passengers/tourists referred by the corporation.

The sources said that in order to create awareness among youth about Pakistan's tourism potential and general public, photographic exhibitions were also arranged on different occasions and attended by students with their families and general public.

PTDC also participated in 12 international tourism exhibitions/seminars in Germany, India, Turkey, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Colombia and China while the Corporation organized 18 domestic tourism events during the period. These included National Tourism Workshop, Awareness Seminars at different educational institutions, Spring Tourism Gala, Media Family Trips, Photographic Exhibitions, Wall Climbing Competition, World Tourism Day Seminars and Events.

Moreover, the sources said PTDC also participated in 10 domestic tourism events and set-up Tourist Information Counters (TICs).

Around 44,025 tourist literature including brochures, posters, postcards, books and DVDs have been distributed amongst international and domestic tourists through TICs, Pakistan's Missions abroad, PIA and other organizations while around 45,149 passengers traveled through Bus Services between Pakistan and India during three years.

Similarly, the sources said around 2,434 tourists travelled through Bus Service between China and Pakistan while 3,454 tourists availed tourist Coach Service between Rawalpindi and Naran.

Pakistan was also represented in International Tourism Exhibition (FITUR-2017) on invitation of Secretary General (UNWTO), a number of meetings were held with diplomats of different countries and it is expected that MoUs may be signed with some countries on joint promotion of tourism.

The sources said another steps is Islamabad City Tour Bus which is expected to be launched soon to promote domestic tourism and added this bus will visit Lok Virsa, Shakarparian, Daman-e-Koh, Lake View Point and Faisal Masjid.

A number of meetings with representatives of private schools and colleges have been arranged and they agreed to provide student groups for the said bus service.

Managing Director PTDC also visited Thailand from March 1 to 7 this year accompanied by Thai Ambassador where they met different multinational companies Heads and Thai Minister for Tourism for attracting investment in tourism sector in Pakistan.

The MD also met with Head of Tourist Police to learn from their experiences and adopt the same in Pakistan as well, the sources added.