DTS Teams Raid Hotels, Restaurants To Check Food, Facilities For Tourists

The teams of Directorate of Tourist Services (DTS) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture and Tourism Authority (KPCTA) and respective district administrations raided hotels, restaurants and eateries to check quality of foods, travel agencies and cleanliness in food outlets across the province

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Apr, 2024) The teams of Directorate of Tourist Services (DTS) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture and Tourism Authority (KPCTA) and respective district administrations raided hotels, restaurants and eateries to check quality of foods, travel agencies and cleanliness in food outlets across the province.

The action was taken on the special directives of Advisor to Chief Minister on Tourism and Culture Zahid Chanzeb, which was carried out under vigilance of DTS Controller Sajjad Hameed.

The teams of DTS comprising inspectors and other staff along with respective district administrations visited hotels, restaurants, eateries and travel agencies in Peshawar, Chitral, Swat, Abbottabad, Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, Mardan, Nowshera, Charsadda and tourist attractions elsewhere in the province and checked the quality of foods, snacks, rents, amenities to tourists and registration licenses of food outlets and travel agencies.

The teams checked over 400 hotels, restaurants, eateries and travel agencies in the province and directed the owners and managers to further improve quality of foods, accommodations and services to the tourists.

Prior to the action, the DTS officials met the respective local administration authorities and apprised them that action was being taken against the unregistered hotels, restaurants, rent-A car and travel agencies in the district.

The officials were also told that action would be taken against the hotels, restaurants and eateries, which served substandard and unhygienic food stuffs, edibles and snacks.

The teams raided various bazars and issued warnings to unregistered hotels, restaurants and eatery outlets and directed them to renew registration license or heavy fines would be imposed for violation.

The teams also directed the owners of rent a car, hotels, restaurants and travel agencies to register their businesses with the DTS forthwith or else legal action would be taken against the illegal businesses.

The officials said that the checking would help promote tourism in the province besides facilitating the tourists to get data of hotels, restaurants and travel agencies.

KPCTA Director General Barkatullah Marwat has hailed the DTS action and said that such activities would be carried out in the upcoming tourism season to ensure provision of better services to the tourists and visitors in KP.

He vowed that proper steps would also be taken to facilitate the tourists during Eidul Azha and throughout the tourism season, saying that tourists can register their complaints via Tourism Helpline 1422, which will be responded and addressed immediately.

Since upgradation of the Tourist Services Wing of the Tourism Department to a full-fledged Directorate of Tourist Services (DTS), the entity has been effectively controlling and supervising the hotel and travel industry and other businesses related to tourism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Besides, making arrangements for provision of quality services to tourists in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and outside Pakistan through tour operators, the directorate also generates valuable revenue from the tourism industry for the provincial exchequer.