LAHORE:
Tourism Ministry will begin ‘Destination Pakistan 2007’ programme from December 15
in Islamabad to promote the cultural heritage and scenic beauty of the country, Federal
Tourism Minister Nelofar Bakhtiar said on Saturday.
Talking to reporters, she said that the programme would give a unique blend to tourists from all over the world. She said the government has planned a number of activities for the coming year to attract tourists. “Special packages will be offered to overseas Pakistanis and their children for visiting Pakistan,” she added.
The minister also highlighted measures taken by the government for the promotion of
tourism in the country.
“Ranging from snow-covered mountains
in the north to vast lush fields and forest resorts, Pakistan is also a destination for religious
tourism,” she said. She urged tour operators, leading businessmen and people from different walks of life to play their role
in promoting the soft image of Pakistan.
She said the government was promoting religious
tourism. A large number of Buddhists and Sikhs visited their religious places
in Pakistan every year.
She said Pakistan had the famous Silk Route, six out of eight highest peaks
in the world and the Indus Valley civilisation. She also appreciated the efforts of Prince Karim Aga Khan for building hotels and resorts
in northern Pakistan, adding that more hotel chains were willing to operate
in the major cities, especially
in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad.
She said Pakistan was a hospitable country and the people of Pakistan wanted to share their culture, cuisine, music and art with the rest of the world.
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Starting high in the rarefied air of the Bolivian Andes, the steep and bumpy La Paz-to-Coroico road plunges down almost 3,600 meters on its spectacular 64-km path to the lush, sub-tropical Yungas and the sleepy town of Coroico. The narrow -- occasionally very narrow -- track hugs the walls of the sheer valley as it snakes its way beneath waterfalls and rocky overhangs. A fatal accident every fortnight is not uncommon on the Coroico road. The July disaster brought the death toll during the previous eight months to 55. In 1995 the Inter-American Development Bank dubbed the La Paz-to-Coroico route "the world's most dangerous road."
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