Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) will hold a two-day conference on the theme “Rethinking Tourism” on September 26 and 27 to celebrate World Tourism Day at Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) and Marriot Hotel Islamabad. The conference is part of three-day activities to be started from September 26 including photography competition, photography and painting exhibition, display of tourism stalls, heritage crafts exhibition, youth painting competition, Islamabad sightseeing tour for students and youth at PNCA. PTDC is organizing these events in collaboration with partner organization including Serena Hotels, Hashoo Group of Hotels, Destination Hotels, PNCA, Punjab Tourism, STFP and COTHM. Experts from tourism industry will participate in five panel discussions to discuss topics including restoration of tourism after floods and widespread rains, removing bottlenecks to promote foreign tourism in Pakistan, issues and challenges of mountaineering and trekking tourism in Pakistan, promotion in Islamabad Capital territory and initiatives of provincial tourism departments for the development and promotion of tourism. On September 27, this tourism conference will conclude with a presentation on the summary of recommendations and prize distribution ceremony of photographic and art competition. The purpose of all these activities was to highlight the importance of tourism for boosting the economy and creating awareness among the general public, especially the young generation about the role of tourism in the growth of the GDP and promoting the soft image of the country, said Aftab Rana, Managing Director PTDC in a statement. He said, “We are celebrating this day in a country which is blessed with the most eye catching natural landscapes, mighty mountain ranges, a variety of flora and fauna, breath taking coastal lines and diverse cultural heritage that needs to be maintained and promoted for the future generations. “We now new need to rethink about the future of tourism in Pakistan and our focus should be on the promotion of responsible, resilient and sustainable tourism to ensure the long term benefits of this sector for the people of Pakistan,” he said.