Staff Report
RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) and Evacuee Trust Property Board(ETPB) Punjab have agreed to put joint efforts to promote religious tourism to earn foreign exchange.
These views were expressed by Acting President RCCI Faisal Shahzad in a meeting with Secretary Evacuee Trust Property Board(ETPB) Punjab Rana Muhammad Arif at the chamber house.
Faisal said that Pakistan has a largely unexplored avenue of tourism in the religious sector primarily Sikh and Buddhist tourism which can potentially generate millions of dollars for Pakistan, and create over 100,000 jobs.
Pakistan contains numerous sacred sites of different religions like Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism that can easily be transformed into tourist destinations, he added.
Secretary ETPB Punjab Rana Muhammad Arif informed that the ETPB was working to develop international competitive religious tourism sector to fully realize its diverse potential and making religious tourism a leading economic sector for the country through public-private partnership.
He said that ETPB had around 70,000 sites and properties including religious shrines and “We are trying to explore our tourist sites and to develop infrastructure and accessibility of those sites to promote the soft image of Pakistan.”
Secretary ETPB Punjab Rana Muhammad Arif informed that the ETPB was working to develop international competitive religious tourism sector to fully realize its diverse potential and making religious tourism a leading economic sector for the country through public-private partnership.
