Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Islamic Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture (ICCIA) and Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly organize International Sustainable Tourism Forum in Pakistan.

The agreement was signed by Yousef Hasan Khalawi, Secretary-General, Islamic Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture (ICCIA) and Aftab ur Rehman Rana, Managing Director, Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) at ICCIA Headquarters, said a press release issued here on Wednesday.

According to this agreement, an international mega conference and expo on Sustainable Tourism will be organized every year in Pakistan with an aims for bringing the ecosystem together by embedding the principle of sustainability into all aspects of the tourism sector and creating awareness about Sustainable Tourism in the OIC Member States and rest of the world.

In view of the significance of the said Forum, which would certainly strengthen the status of Pakistan, as a major global hub for Sustainable Tourism, ICCIA and PTDC believe it would be a great opportunity for Pakistan to organize this Forum on regular basis for the benefit of public & private sector of Pakistan and besides that stimulate investment in new infrastructure.

Both the parties agreed to undertake all efforts within their existing resources and capacities to ensure timely and effective arrangements, which would contribute to the successful organization of the said International Forum.

A joint organizing committee will be formed to manage all the activities of the Forum. The committee will be co-headed by the ICCIA and PTDC and will consist of members from both sides. The organizing committee will suggest an appropriate theme for the Forum, date, venue, panelists, speakers, and workshop experts, as well as visibility and media communication.

Initially the plan is to organize annual Forum for five consecutive years and later on it will be made a permanent annual event in Pakistan.  The objective of the Forum is to position Pakistan as the capital of Sustainable Tourism in the OIC Member States and the rest of the world as well as to highlight the abundant investment opportunities in the Tourism Sector of OIC Member States.

The Forum will also focus on promoting intra-OIC tourist flows, through visa facilitation to the extent permitted by the laws of Member States and to build a permanent mechanism to promote investment opportunities in Sustainable Tourism in Pakistan and rest of the OIC world.

Tourism is one of the world’s fastest-growing and most important industries and is a major source of income for many countries. This will be an outstanding International Forum and one of the most important events for Pakistan.

It is expected that foreign participants/exhibitors/investors from top OIC countries, i.e. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Central Asian States and African countries and the rest of the world will attend this mega Forum apart from the Pakistani delegates from all over the country.

The Forum will be held physically for two days. On the first day of the program, Forum panels will be held, where high profiles speakers from OIC Countries will make presentations; and on the second day parallel workshops will be held on different themes of the Sustainable Tourism. An Exhibition on the Sustainable Tourism will be held for both the days.