Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan paid a visit to the Kaghan Valley on Saturday and stayed for a brief at a wooden camping pod, promising to build more in order to promote the tourism industry in the province. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government announced it had installed camping pods for tourists in Swat, Kaghan Valley and other places in a bid to help visitors take in the sights of the area in complete comfort.

A pod is a unique, insulated wooden hut that enables the tourists to take in the marvellous sights in the wild from a comfortable, spacious and safe accommodation. These camping sites will provide the tourists a way to enjoy majestic scenery of the forests and wilderness of the greenish meadows. These all areas of hotels and restaurants at their central points but nothing competes the joy and thrill of living in those fully equipped camping pods.

Moreover, these camping pods are aimed to convert into camping villages in selected areas of KPK which will attract tourist to come and spend time in wild beauty of pines and dark forests. These pods are in use around the world and serve as the ideal vacation spots for groups of friends and families who are on the lookout for a vacation deep in the wild.

The pods are equipped with all the basic necessities that a person requires-access to water, electricity, restrooms, kitchen and the family area. Camping pods have been established at Thandiani (Abbottabad), Sharan (Kaghan Valley) and Bishigram (Swat Valley).

According to details, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has planned to set-up six camping paradise pods (CPPs) in Hazara and Malaknad divisions in order to provide congenial environment to domestic and foreign tourists to enjoy snowfalls, mountaineering and recreational activities during winter and summer seasons. Tourism Corporation KPK officials said that work on this gigantic project had initiated in March this year, while efforts are being made to setup one such camp at Thandyani before schedule time for tourists coming to Hazara to enjoy snowfall during winter season.

Each camp would be completed with an estimated cost of Rs 10 million, the officials said, adding 30 more camps would be setup subject to availability of funds. The officials said the provincial government was keen to promote tourism and provide maximum facilities to foreign as well as local tourists. They informed that a number of projects have been pipelined in this regard.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2017