NEWs

Sustainable Tourism Foundation Pakistan (STFP) joined hands with ICOMOS Pakistan, Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) and C2D to organize a Round Table Conference on the theme of Heritage Legislation of Pakistan: Issues, constraints and challenges on 20th January in the conference room of PTDC Head Office at Islamabad.
International and national experts including Dr. Dowon Kim, Dr. Gamini Wijesuriya, Dr. Vishakha Kawathekar, Dr. Rohit Jigyasu, Ms. Poonam Verma Mascarenahs, Prof Dr. Rafique Mughal, Dr. Malik Maqsood, Prof. Fauzia Qureshi, Prof Sajida Haider Vandal, Mr. Kamran Lashari, Mr. Salman Baig, Dr. Nadeem Omar Tarar, Mr. Aftab ur Rehman Rana, Mr. Rafay Alam, Ms. Amina Ali,

Mr Usman Sami, Mr Asadullah Faiz, Mr Salman Baig, Ms. Imrana Tiwana, Ms. Shahnaz Ramzi, Dr. Asma Ibrahim, Dr. Kaleemullah Lashari, Dr. Ali Jan, Prof. Sajjad Kausar, Ms. Kalsoom Saqib, Mr. Ijlal Husain, Mr. Mian Attiq, Ms. Rameesha Yazdani, Mr. Khawaja Zeeshan and Ms. Masooma and number of other delegates participated in the four panel discussions and shared their expert opinion on the issues, constraints and challenge faced in the heritage conservation. They also made recommendations to resolve these issues and in the light of international best practices and contemporary heritage legislations.
Mr. Aftab ur Rehman Rana, President STFP especially discussed in his presentation about the role of local communities in the heritage conservation and creation of economic and livelihood opportunity for them to effectively engage them in heritage conservation by promoting sustainable heritage tourism. A detailed report on the findings of this conference will be prepared and presented to the Federal and Provincial governments to incorporate necessary changes in the heritage laws of Pakistan.

We are pleased to announce that Sustainable Tourism Foundation Pakistan has signed a MoU with World Federation of Tour Guides Associations (WFTGA), Austria-Pakistan Association (APA), Pakistan Business and Professional Council (PBPC), Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation Pakistan (PTDC), Discover Pakistan TV Channel and Kohsar University Murree (KUM) to start a capacity building program for the tour guides in Pakistan.

The purpose of this collaboration is to create and an effective working relationship between the partner organizations for the promotion of

 sustainable tourism and development of skills of tourist guides in Pakistan. Under this collaboration various training courses as per the standards of WFTGA will be organized in Pakistan to bridge the gap in the availability of trained and certified tour guides in Pakistan.
STFP is working closely with public and private sector stakeholders at national, regional and international levels to facilitate and promotion the exchange of knowledge, experiences and ideas on best practices of sustainable tourism. Over the last 15 years, STFP has done pioneering work in the promotion of responsible and sustainable tourism in Pakistan. One of the special area of intervention has been the human resource development for tourism in Pakistan. STFP regularly organizes training courses for the tour guides and far hundreds of young people have participated in these training courses and are now serving in the tourism industry as tour guides and tour operators.