By Uzma Zafar
ISLAMABAD: As government has lifted its state of Coronavirus emergency, the tourism sector is seen coming out of the lurch after a hiatus of five months where tourist destinations all over the country including federal capital are slowly reopening and gearing to welcome visitors with adopting government given SOPs.
Country Tourist spots reopened its doors for tourists after nearly five months of closure to revive an economy slammed by the coronavirus pandemic.
According to visitors, Cultural attractions have also begun to reopen their doors with less crowds and new rules in the country after long coronavirus lockdown emergency situation where a large number of visitors were seen wearing protective masks. A number of tourists on Sunday also flocked to Naran Kaghan, Nathiagali, Murree, Swat and other tourist destinations in Hazara division where police along with officials of other health departments are on the road to facilitate the guests, visitors added.
Sami Shabir a visitor in Murree on Sunday while talking to APP news express his happiness over resuming tourist activities said, as lockdown restrictions ease around the country, our favorite places are reopening their doors to welcome us once again. A group of youngsters in Murree also regretted that large numbers of people flocked to popular tourists sites and major cities across Country on weekend, despite warnings from health authorities that the risk posed by the coronavirus pandemic remains far from over.
Another tourist Bilal Malik while travelling to Naran Kaghan commented that the reopening of tourism sector is vital to the country’s economy and this would help compensate businesses for the lost income and help country’s economy recover faster. Many of the country’s restaurants that were shuttered only days ago also appeared to be doing a brisk trade, with several requiring reservations to enter, he added. He further said that country needs tourism, and tourism needs safety in both origin and destination and that the government will make sure that tourists are safe, and nor they bring “any risk to these places.
A 50 years old citizen Suleman Javed said that the health department in a notification already directed visitors to ensure the use of sanitizer while visiting parks, museum, historical and other places to avoid contracting Covid-19. He said people should prefer online booking of rooms and tickets to minimize the risk of exposure to the coronavirus and limit the tourist site capacity.
