Gradual Re-opening With SOPs Crucial To Save Tourism Industry: Experts

New investments with gradual re-opening of COVID-19 hit tourism with strict standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place could play a crucial role in reviving the tourism industry back to its potential, experts said on Tuesday

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Jun, 2020 ) :New investments with gradual re-opening of COVID-19 hit tourism with strict standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place could play a crucial role in reviving the tourism industry back to its potential, experts said on Tuesday.

The experts from the tourism sector, donor agencies and government departments concerned in an online dialogue 'tourism sector recovery - building back better' organized by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), said tourism was one of the worst COVID-hit sectors rendering huge revenue and jobs losses across Pakistan and its gradual opening with strict SOPs could help revive it.

Hassan Daud, Chief Executive Officer of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) board of Investment (BOI), said despite the challenges, opportunities still existed as "we are receiving a lot of interest from foreign investors to invest in the tourism sites near Dir". Such investments could materialize quickly if the tourism-related infrastructure was improved, he added.

"We also need to invest in boosting capacity of human resource in tourism sector," Daud added. "We can set up training centers for the tourism sector on public-private partnership basis. Besides,we should quickly help raise integrated tourism zones in all the provinces." SDPI Joint Executive Director Dr Vaqar Ahmed earlier presented a detailed account of the pandemic's impact on the tourism sector. The collapse of the sector had also contributed to contraction of growth and jobs in allied industries, including food and transport industry.

As the tourism sector opened up, he said, the government facilitation was required to make information around 'safe tourism' and it should be easily accessible.

He said the government bodies such as the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation needed to collaborate closely with the World Health Organization to understand and disseminate the SOPs for after COVID-19 tourism. Likewise, he added, the necessary health measures needed to be implemented in ways that would help minimize impact on international travel and trade. The support from the United Nations' World Tourism Organization was the need of the hour that could significantly help in saving jobs in the poorest countries.

He said the provincial government should come up with interventions which could share the burden of such overheads that the small medium enterprises in the sector were still facing.

Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority CEO Hashim Raza stressed the need to implement well elaborated SOPs by all the stakeholders involved in the tourism supply chain. "We also need to support working capital of these enterprises keeping in view the financial constraints resulted by COVID-19." Sustainable Tourism Foundation Pakistan President Aftab Rana viewed that all of the hotels would now require the pandemic-specific certification to make their facilities safe places for the tourists.

Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) representative Babur Malik said that his department had initiated coordination and facilitation process with the provinces to develop a mechanism for safe tourism.

Dr Muhammad Arif of International Islamic University viewed,"We need to help the sustainability of start-up enterprises in tourism sector to save them from a collapse."