Pakistan is developing its tourism sector with renewed interest since the present government took office. The Prime Minister, one of its strongest proponents, has given a loud and clear message to his team to focus on ecotourism and sustainability.
On the eve of upcoming World Tourism Day (27 September 19), National Logistics Cell ( NLC ) in coordination with various educational institutions will run a countrywide cleanliness drive at the tourist resorts to create awareness about eco-tourism in Pakistan.
A comprehensive program has been chalked out to engage youth and students in the cleanliness campaign with an aim to raise public awareness about protecting nature. Student excursions have been planned to most frequented places of domestic tourism where environmental issues and littering are an issue. A variety of sites from mountains to the coastal belt have been chosen to highlight different challenges to the ecosystem, marine life, and archeological heritage.
The event will focus on highlighting the need for using products and services that do not harm nature in tourist spots. NLC plans to spearhead eco-tourism with an underlying theme to promote the use of recycled products, renewable energy, water conservation and minimizing existing pollution levels.
Eco-tourism helps to make our world sustainable in addition to putting up a barrier against climate change.
A team of students from Karachi will be taken to the shores of the Arabian Sea to demonstrate cleanliness and create public awareness. Similar events have simultaneously been arranged in Gilgit, Murree, Islamabad, Lahore as well as other cities.
World Tourism Day has been celebrated every year on 27 September since 1980. This date was chosen to coincide with an important milestone in world tourism: the anniversary of the adoption of the UN World Tourism Organization Statutes on 27 September 1970.
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Its purpose is to foster awareness among the international community of the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economic value. The event seeks to address global challenges outlined in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to highlight the contribution the tourism sector can make in reaching these goals.
Tourism helps provide livelihoods and brings development to local communities as well as boosting the economy of the host country. It is still a labor-intensive sector and offers opportunities worldwide for higher employment.
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According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) report released in 2019, the travel and tourism sector contributed Rs2,452.0 billion (USD20 billion), 7.1% of the total economy, to Pakistan’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2018.
The WTTC report revealed that a total of 3.85 million jobs, 6.3% of total employment, were created in 2018.
Eco-tourism helps to make our world sustainable in addition to putting up a barrier against climate change. This relates to SDG Number 12 (Responsible production and consumption) as well as Number 15 (Life on Land).