PTDC is excited to share with you the news that Pakistan has won the award of Best New Exhibitor at the Travel and Adventure Show 2023. This leading trave and tourism expo was recently held at New York,USA from 28 to 29 January. Mr. John, the CEO of Travel and Adventure Show presented the award to Mr. Aftab Rehman Rana, MD of PTDC. In his comments on this occasion, Mr. Rana mentioned that Pakistan's participation in Travel and Trade Show at New York has been highly impactful in terms of response from the public and engagement of all the team members throughout two days of the show. The management of the show highly appreciated it a lot and has awarded Pakistan as the Best New Exhibitor of this year. Mr. Awn Chadhury, Chairman of PTDC and Advisor to PM in Tourism congratulated all the members of Pakistan's delegation including the provincial tourism departments and private sector tour operators for their dedication and commitment. He also highly appreciated the support of team of PTDC, TDAP and Pakistan Consulate General at New York to make all this happen.(January 29, 2023)
Aftab ur Rehman Rana, Managing Director PTDC held a meeting with Mr. Zhang Heqing, Cultural Counsellor, Embassy of The People’s Republic of China in Islamabad to discuss the promotion of bilateral tourism between Pakistan and China. Discussion was held on improving facilitation for the tourists on both sides to enhance people to people contact. Mr. Heqing informed that year 2023 will be celebrated as the year of China-Pakistan Year of Tourism Exchange. In this regard a Gandhara Art Exhibition is already planned at Palace Museum in Beijing to showcase Pakistan’s rich potential of diverse culture and long history. Mr. Rana said, that two brotherly counties need to further enhance cooperation in tourism sector to increase the flow of tourists from both sides which will be greatly helpful in improving the people to people contact between to two counters. He especially emphasized on the need to promote group tours through the registered and licensed tourism operators of both the countries to provide convenient way to enjoy touristic sites through guided tours. He also highlighted the need of Chinese language tour guides in Pakistan for which help is required from Chinese side to arrange special training courses. He also recommended about the opening of Khunjrab Pass for tourist traffic as it provide easy access to the visitors of both the sides. He also shared various other recommendations with the Cultural Counsellor of China in this regard. It was also agreed that a working committee having representatives of both the sides will be formed to make the collaboration in tourism promotion more meaningful and fruitful.(November 24, 2022)
PAKISTAN READY TO SHOCASE ITS RICH TOURISM POTENTIAL AT WORKDL TRAVEL MARK LONDON FROM 7 TO 9 NOVEMBER 2022
03-11-2002 Islamabad: Pakistan is in the final stages of preparation to showcase its rich tourism potential at World Travel Market (WTM) which is scheduled to be held from 7th – 9th November 2022 at Excel London. Managing Director PTDC, Aftab ur Rehman Rana informed that PTDC after the interval of almost 14 years is going to setup an impressive Pakistan Pavilion in WTM London in collaboration with provincial tourism departments and private sector companies. He said, Promotion of Pakistan as a top tourist destination is the prime focus of government of Pakistan. Pakistan is blessed with breath-taking natural beauty, rich culture and heritage and great diversity of landscape offering an un-matched tourism potential. Government of Pakistan aims to enhance the influx of foreign tourists to explore the rich touristic potential of this country and contribute in in the socio-economic development of its people through tourism.
He said, World Travel Market (WTM) London is one of the largest international tourism exhibitions which will provides a unique platform to Pakistan to interact with global tourism organizations, top tourism experts and professionals, exhibitors and visitors from a variety of sectors including tourism, hospitality, aviation, transport, travel technology, resort management companies and various other sub-sectors of tourism industry. It is an event of global significance where more than 180 countries come together and showcase their tourism potential under one roof.
Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) has put together a high level delegation of 39 members led by Mr. Awn Chaudhry, Advisor to Prime Minister on Tourism & Sports and Chairman PTDC. Delegation also includes Mr. Abdul Khaliq, Tourism Minister - Balochistan, Raja Nasir Ali, Tourism Minister – Gilgit Baltistan, Mr. Faheem Akhtar, Minister for Tourism, Law & Parliamentary Affairs, Government of Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK), CEOs and MDs of eight private tour operation and hotel management companies and senior officials from PTDC, AJK, GB, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab tourism departments.
It is hoped that participation in World Travel Mark London will provide a great opportunity to Pakistan to showcase its rich tourism potential at this global platform and help in develop G2G, B2B and G2B linkages with the leading players of tourism industry. (November 03, 2022)
Rohtas Paintings and Heritage Crafts Exhibition Marks Intl Tourism Day on Sept 27 Celebrating World Tourism Day 2022, an exhibition of paintings and Heritage Crafts from Rohtas Fort – a UNESCO World Heritage Site at PNCA Islamabad was inaugurated today at PNCA. Ms. Fareena Mazhar, Federal Secretary National Heritage and Culture Division, Mr. Youssef Filali Meknassi, Director of UNESCO Pakistan and Ms. Emanuela Benini, Director of Italian Agency for Development Cooperation jointly inaugurated the exhibition. Art works showcasing collection by as many as 13 talented artists from across the country are on exhibit experimented with oil, acrylic and watercolor mediums to promote sustainable and responsible tourism at the World Heritage Site of Rohtas Fort. The event is was organized by Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC), Sustainable Tourism Foundation Pakistan (STFP) in collaboration UNESCO Islamabad and Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), PNCA and Serena Hotels.
Experts discuss challenges, opportunities in Tourism Sector Experts including policy makers, federal and provincial government representatives and heads of various tourism related companies here Monday discussed the challenges as well as opportunities in the tourism sector during the five sessions of National Tourism Conference here Monday. The conference was organized by Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) on the theme “Rethinking Tourism” to celebrate World Tourism Day at Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA). (26th September 2022)
PTDC organized Three-day photography, art exhibition on International Tourism Day. As many as 322 photographs and around 100 paintings were submitted by established and amateur photographers and painters from across the country in the Photography and Painting competition that was displayed at Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) on September 26, 2022. The competition was organized by Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) to celebrate International Tourism Day 2022. The themes for the competitions included Tourist Attractions of Pakistan, Landscapes, Culture and Life, Adventure Sports and Flora & Fauna. While the painting competition was in two age categories including youth and kid competitions.
Pakistan’s Tourism Potential Highlighted in Myanmar. Pakistan Embassy in Yangon, Myanmar in collaboration with Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) organized a one-day seminar on Tourism Potential of Pakistan at Wyndham Grand Yangon Hotel.(27th July 2022)
The 97th meeting of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) Board of Directors was held in the head office of PTDC on May 30th. Mr. Awn Chaudhry, Special Advisor to Prime Minister/Minister of Tourism and Sports attended this meeting as special invitee. Managing Director, Aftab Rana, welcomed Mr. Awn Chaudhry and the member of board of directors of PTDC. MD PTDC informed the board members that Pakistan has made a significant improvement on the International Travel and Tourism Development Index by moving up six places as per the latest report released by the World Economic Forum (WEF). (May 31, 2022)
PTDC and World Bank jointly organized workshop on National Tourism Competitive Index for Pakistan Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) and The World Bank (WB) jointly organized a workshop in Islamabad on National Tourism Competitiveness Index (NTCI) for Pakistan. The workshop was attended by relevant federal and provincial stakeholders, private sector, industry experts and the academia. Tourism remains a priority sector for the government and is identified as one of the key drivers of economic growth. (May 23, 2022)
Advisor to PM Aoun Chaudhry visits PTDC after taking charge as Minister of Tourism and Sports. Mr. Aoun Chaudhry has been appointed as advisor to the Prime Minister on Sports & Tourism. On the advice of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, President Dr. Arif Alvi approved the appointment of Awn Chaudhry as his advisor. Aoun Chaudhry’s post will be equal to that of Federal Minister.
Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) joins hands with Silk Road Center to organize International Conference and Art festival on Buddhism in Pakistan. This event is going to be held at PNCA Islamabad on 14 and 15 March 2022. Interested people can get themselves registered at this link: https://buddhisminpakistan.org/
Online Consultative B2B Webinar between Tour Operators of Pakistan and China was organized by PTDC to enhance bilateral linkages between two countries.(March 03, 2022)
A Seminar was held at Xenia School of Hospitality on "How to Promote Tourism in Pakistan at International level and introduce the concept of Halal Tourism". Mr Tariq Mehmood, founder Director of Halal Gateways UK gave an informative presentation on Halal Tourism which is now gaining popularity at global level. Mr. Aftab Rana, MD of PTDC was invited as Chief Guest to attend this event.(February 27, 2022)
Mr. Aftab ur Rehman Rana, Managing Director PTDC, held a meeting with Dr. Kasir, CEO of Discover Pakistan TV to develop a collaborative partnership between the two organisations for the promotion of Tourism in Pakistan.(February 19, 2022)
Winter Sports Festival was successfully held at Ganga Choti, Bagh AJK in collaboration with AJK Winter Sports Association. The festival included activities like Ice and Snow Competitions, Cross Country Ski Marathon, colorful cultural show, Alpine Skiing and Ice Skating performances while the closing ceremony will by followed by prize and medals distribution. (February 12, 2022)
Mr. Aftab ur Rehman Rana, Managing Director PTDC, delivered a presentation on tourism sector performance at President House, Islamabad. He highlighted the significance of tourism and hospitality sector and tourism potential of Pakistan.(February 09, 2022)
Managing Director PTDC, Mr. Aftab Ur Rehman Rana attends finals of National Ice Hockey Championship at Ghulkin, Upper Hinza to promote winter tourism in Gilgit-Baltistan. 16 boys and 5 girls teams participated in this event, sponsored by PTDC.(January 24, 2022)
Webinar - Roundtable on Heritage Legislation of Pakistan: Issues, Constraints and Challenges was held at PTDC Head Office, Islamabad. A roundtable discussion was held to review the heritage legislation in Pakistan, explore the potential of heritage tourism and look for the source of funding for heritage.(January 20, 2022)
Mr. Aftab ur Rehman Rana, Managing Director PTDC, was invited as Guest of Honor in COTHM Islamabad Annual Convocation 2022 at Marriott Islamabad. He appreciated the efforts of COTHM institution and highlighted the significance of tourism and hospitality sector.(January 12, 2022)
