Report of the First Seminar of SAARC Tourism Council
held in Lahore, Pakistan
(4 August 1996)

The first seminar on current status and existing policies of tourism industry was held in Lahore, Pakistan on 4 August 1996. Delegates from Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka participated in the meeting. The list of the delegates participating in the seminar is given in annex 1.

The seminar started with the inaugural programme. The inaugural session was presided over by Senator Ilyas Ahmad Bilour, President, FPCCI. Mr Riaz H Quraishi, Chairman, Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation was the chief guest of the programme. Mr Hasan Raja Pasha, Additional Secretary and In-charge, Youth and Tourism Division, Government of Pakistan was scheduled to be present in inaugural session. But due to unavoidable circumstance he could not be present during the morning. He joined the seminar later on the day. Mr Salman Javed, General Manager, Tour Promotion and Project, PIA, conducted the sessions. The inaugural session was started by recitation of the holy quoran. After this, Senator Ilyas Bilour delivered the welcome / inaugural speech. In his welcome speech, Senator Bilour expressed happiness for the opportunity to inaugurate the seminar. He hoped that the event will be useful for exchange of ideas, and opinions among the participants from SAARC countries and come up with proposal for exploiting to the maximum the existing potentials of the industry in the region. He was of the view that SAARC had a variety of tourist attractions and could become a very attractive place for international tourists. He called on the council to promote SAARC region as a tourist destination and prepare proposals for joint participation in international fairs. He also called on the council to study the existing policies and try to suggest uniformity in them. He also called on the airlines of SAARC countries to cooperate and evolve a joint strategy for optimising the use of aircrafts of all the member countries. Towards the end of his speech he thanked Mr Seikh Jamil Mahboob Magoon, Vice President, SCCI for providing the opportunity to address the meeting. He was also thankful to the guests from Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka and wished them a comfortable stay.

After Senator Bilour, Mr Padma Jyoti, Vice President, SCCI and Chairman, SCCI Tourism Council Governing Board was invited to speak. Mr Jyoti highlighted on the ongoing and planned activities of the Tourism Council. He expressed the view that inspite of having one-fifth share of the humanity and having all the attributes for becoming a very popular tourist destination, SAARC region's performance in this sector was rather poor. He cited the figures of tourist arrivals of each country of SAARC and informed the house that the share of all SAARC countries was less than 1 percent of the world in both tourist arrivals and tourism receipts. He expressed the hope that the initiative shown by the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the field of tourism will help to raise the level of co-operation among the private sector involved in this field and boost the tourist arrivals and tourism receipts of SAARC countries. He also hoped that the council will be able to complement the activities of government. He gave brief account of the history of formation of SCCI Tourism Council and went on the highlight on the programmes planned in the near future. He highlighted the fact that tourism was one of the product areas which were being focused by the SCCI for their development. According to him the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry was entrusted to co-ordinate efforts for formation and activation of the Tourism Council. He told the gathering that the next seminar of the SCCI Tourism Council was being held in Colombo, Sri Lanka where the discussion would be on common problems and the council will try to thrash out a common policy and common strategy for progress. The next programme was being planned in Delhi where real business would be discussed. He thanked FNSt for providing financial support to take ahead the activities of the Tourism Council. He also thanked Mr Magoon and other Pakistani hosts for their warm hospitality and the co-operation in organising the seminar.

Mr Ashok K Atri, Director, SAARC Secretariat also spoke in the inaugural session. Mr Atri, thanked the SAARC chamber and its Tourism Council for inviting him to attend and present his views. He gave account of the activities of the SAARC Technical Committee on Tourism. He informed the gathering that the Technical Committee has decided to produce a SAARC travel guide and produce a promotional film. He was of the view that without significant involvement of the private sector, it would not be possible to make meaningful progress in the tourism sector. Towards the end of the speech, he conveyed the best wishes of H E Mr Naeem U Hasan, SAARC Secretary General for the success of the seminar.

Mr Riaz H Quraishi, Chief Guest of the Ceremony and Chairman, Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation delivered the inaugural address. In his address he narrated the role and mandate given to the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC). He expressed the view the PTDC was established to supplement the activities of private sector in the field of tourism. Then he went on to highlight the main features of the National Tourism Policy of 1990. The benefits and incentives which were available to other industries were accorded to this sector also by the Tourism Policy of 1990. The policy, also provided other incentives and framework for development of tourism in Pakistan. Mr Quraishi ended his speech by thanking the chair. The inaugural session ended.

[Working Session] [Bangladesh] [Annex 1]

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