PTDC Gets New MD

Aftab-ur-Rehman Rana, President of Sustainable Tourism Foundation Pakistan, has been appointed as the Managing Director of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC)

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Apr, 2021 ):Aftab-ur-Rehman Rana, President of Sustainable Tourism Foundation Pakistan, has been appointed as the Managing Director of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC).

He was appointed on honorary basis with immediate effect, a news release said.

His appointment was approved in the meeting of Federal Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minster of Pakistan on April 01, 2021.

Talking to APP on Tuesday, the newly appointed MD said he would strive for improving performance of the department to ensure extensive promotion of the country's tourism. All-out efforts would be made to mitigate the negative impacts of the coronavirus on tourism sector of Pakistan, he added.

He said special initiatives would be taken to bridge the gap between public and private sectors for sustainable growth of tourism industry and build the image of Pakistan as a tourism destination across the world.

He added that coordination among all the stakeholders would be enhance for attracting more local and foreign tourists.

Aftab Rana is s seasoned tourism professional having more than 35 years of experience of tourism industry. He is a well-known figure in tourism industry especially due to his pioneering efforts for the promotion of sustainable tourism, responsible tourism, ecotourism, community-based tourism, youth tourism and heritage tourism in Pakistan.

He has vast experience of tourism policy formulation, product development, destination development, tourism human resource development, tourism planning, marketing and promotion.

Aftab Rana is an active contributor of his professional vision at various national and international forums of tourism industry.

He has worked with public, private and non-governmental sectors and has done extensive work for the formulation of provincial tourism polices and national tourism strategy for Pakistan. He has also worked as a tourism development consultant with USAID, Asian Development Bank, World Bank and other international develop organizations on the projects of tourism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Baluchistan and Gilgit-Baltistan.

He is an acclaimed tourism educator and trainer and is associated with the National Institute of Administration at Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta as visiting faculty member.

He has conducted many trainings courses for tourism professionals and hospitality staff members in different parts of Pakistan and has developed the skills of thousands of works to meet the ever-growing demand of trained workforce in Pakistan.

He has contributed three travel guide books on Kaghan Valley, Swat Valley and Chitral Valley. He writes regularly on tourist places of Pakistan and about issues of tourism industry. His articles have been published in leading newspapers and tourism magazines.

Aftab Rana received number of awards including Commonwealth Asia Award for Excellence, the Trainer of The Year Award from the South Asia Tourism Human Resource Development Project (SATHRDP), Government of Pakistan's Better Pakistan-2010 Excellence Award in the field of Tourism Promotion, Pride of Mountains Award for the promotion of Sustainable Tourism and Excellence Award in Nature Conservation and Youth Tourism by AFP.