Pakistan to host 2021 World Tourism Forum

KARACHI, Pakistan

Pakistan will host the World Tourism Forum next year to tout the country’s tourism potential around the globe, especially among the countries of the D-8 (developing 8) bloc.

Addressing a press conference in the capital Islamabad on Sunday, Syed Zulfikar Bukhari, the prime minister’s adviser on tourism and overseas Pakistanis, said the tourism ministers of all the D-8 member states, including Turkey, will also participate in the forum in Islamabad.

The event had been scheduled for this year but was delayed until next year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Over 1,000 foreign visitors will attend the five-day event.

“Pakistan has a huge tourism potential that we want to introduce to the world, especially the Muslim world,” Bukhari said, adding: “We are inviting the tourism ministers of D-8 countries, including Turkey, to learn from their experience promoting tourism.”

The World Tourism Forum is an organization based in Istanbul, Turkey dedicated to developing tourism around the world with its annual meetings.

Pakistan, Bukhari added, had drawn up a five-year action plan to boost its tourism, badly hit by years of terrorism in the country following events related to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US.

Islamabad, he added, will launch a tourism e-portal by the end of this year to better attract foreign and local tourists.

From the snow-capped peaks in the north and glistening waters in the south, together with limitless opportunities to watch wildlife, sail in the mighty Indus river, and deep-sea diving in the Arabian Sea, Pakistan has a great deal to attract tourists.

The northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, which borders neighboring China, is home to six peaks of over 8,000 meters (26,246 feet) tall, including the world’s second-tallest peak, K2.

The region also boasts over 5,000 large and small glaciers and more than 100 lakes, which jointly make up the world’s largest freshwater reservoir.

Eco-lovers can also witness the endangered snow leopard and brown bear, in addition to 300 species of wildlife in the breathtaking region.