BAGH (National Times)- President Dr Arif Alvi has launched the commercial helicopter flight services of Kashmir Air in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) as part of an effort to promote tourism in the region.
The president, addressing the launching ceremony of Kashmir Air, at Bagh, said the AJK was blessed with immense natural beauty and tourism potential, and the private sector should come forward to develop its tourism sector.
Kashmir Air is a private company that is going to start commercial helicopter flights to AJK and northern areas of Pakistan for the transportation of tourists.
During his day-long stay in the AJK, the president launched the helicopter flight service, visited a newly established high-end private school, and the flagship campus of a healthcare Information Technology company at Bagh, and was briefed on the establishment of a hospital at Abbaspur.
The president urged the AJK government to promote sustainable and environment-friendly tourism, besides evolving tourism-friendly policies for facilitating private-sector investment.
He said that tourism had become the mainstay of many developing economies in the world and was considered a prime source for earning foreign exchange, creating jobs, stimulating growth, and reducing economic disparities.
He called for adopting an integrated approach to tourism planning in AJK, adding that a careful assessment of the economic, social, and environmental impacts of tourism on the region should be conducted, besides establishing linkages between stakeholders, businesses, resources and tourism activities.
President Alvi said that Pakistan possessed enormous human resources in the form of youth and women, which with relevant skills and training could become an asset to the national economy in the future.
He urged the need to provide technical and vocational skills and training to AJK’s youth in the tourism and hospitality sector to provide gainful employment to youth, particularly women, in their own region.
President Alvi said that the IT sector was akin to a “fast train”, that could help Pakistan achieve accelerated economic growth with little investment as compared to traditional brick-and-mortar dependent infrastructure development.
During his visit to the school, the president appreciated the private sector for providing quality education to students of AJK to help improve the education standard.
