Daily Times

Air University, in order to mark the World Tourism Day, has signed an memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a renowned tourism organisation, National Tourism Pakistan (NTP), to extend mutual cooperation in various areas related to tourism and hospitality.

World Tourism Day is being celebrated every year by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) with a purpose to raise awareness on the role of tourism within the international community and to demonstrate how it affects social, cultural, political and economic values worldwide.

Vice Chancellor Air Marshal (retd) Javaid Ahmed, in his remarks, stated that Pakistan is endowed with a rich civilization and tourism sites. “Several countries on the world map are earning a huge amount of revenue only through tourism,” he said, while appreciating the state policies of the current regime for promotion of tourism.

“Pakistan has many historical, religious, cultural, archeological, and adventurous sites that could attract a large number of tourists from around the globe,” he expressed.

“No doubt, our youth is very active in showcasing attractive and beautiful sites on various social media platforms,” Executive Director NTP Zeeshan Shahzad stated, adding that many blogs, vlogs, and youtube channels are projecting a positive image of Pakistan at the international level.” However, he further emphasized the need for a centralized national tourism portal to benefit the entire tourism industry.

Director Student Affairs Fazaila Ali, who signed the MoU on behalf of the Air University, emphasized that the tourism industry has a big potential to provide employment opportunities to the youth. According to her, Air University is committed to explore new horizons for the best interest of its students and the society.

She further highlighted that Air University is one of the leading universities which is offering a four year degree programme in Tourism and Hospitality Management.

The participants, during the open discussion, endorsed that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in having a massive socio-economic impact on the telecom industry overall. However, there is also a constant rise in domestic tourists to various tourist sites in Pakistan.

On the occasion, Vice Chancellor Air University Air Marshal (Retd) Javaid Ahmed, Registrar Air Cdre (Retd) Abdul Wahab Motla, Director QEC Air Cdre (Retd) Ahmed Hassan, Director Academics Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Tariq Matin, Dean AUSOM Dr. Mueen Aizaz Zafar, Director Student Affairs Fazaila Ali, Assistant Director (P&AA) Sabah Uddin Qazi, Placement Officer Gulnaz Batool and Assistant Officer Misbah Shahid represented the Air University whereas the delegate of NTP, led by its Executive Director Zeeshan Shahzad, was comprising of Prof Naveed Ashraf and Farah Yasin.