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UNDP sets up eco-tourism camping village in Laspur

BOONI: The United National Development Program (UNDP) has established an eco-tourism and camping village in Sor Laspur village of Upper Chitral and handed it over to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture and Tourism Authority (KPCTA).

In this regard, UNDP Resident Director in Pakistan Knut Ostby visited the village where handing’taking over function was held. Deputy Commissioner Upper Chitral Muhammad Khalid Zaman, officials of the KPCTA and local notables. 

The establishment of the tourism camping site will help in the promotion of tourism in the sceneic area.

UNDP is supporting the Department of Tourism, Sports, Culture, Architecture & Youth Affairs, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) in setting up ‘camping villages’ in scenic locations across the province. By fostering tourism, UNDP hopes to revitalize the economy of the region by providing lucrative and sustainable employment and business opportunities to the local population, especially the youth.

The establishment of camping villages is a unique and novel idea to foster tourism in Pakistan. In addition to providing livelihoods to the local youth, this initiative provides tourists with an opportunity to partake in adventure tourism, understand eco-friendly tourism, and witness the beauty of the country.

Rs300m worth agreement

The Culture and Tourism Authority of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have signed a Rs300 million agreement to implement the third phase of the Ecotourism and Camping Village project in five areas of the province.

Officials insist that in addition to increasing livelihood opportunities for the local youth, the initiative would provide tourists with an opportunity to partake in adventure tourism and experience the scenic beauty of Pakistan. Moreover, promoting ecotourism also promotes responsible travel to natural areas, while preserving and respecting the local environment and heritage.

The initiative is the continuation oftwo phases of the projectsince 2017, where the UNDP Pakistan and the Tourism Department have already established six camping sites at various locations across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and an additional 4 sites are expected to be completed by June 2023.

Each site has ten modern, state of the art camping pods with attached washrooms and common kitchen facilities that can accommodate 26 tourists.

The agreement of the third phase of the project was signed between the UNDP Resident Representative, Knut Ostby and Project Director, Culture and Tourism Authority, Mohammad Ali Syed, at Sor Laspur, Upper Chitral on Friday where the recently completed camping village under the second phase of the project was handed over to the CTA, Khalid Zaman, Deputy Commissioner, Upper Chitral and local community members were also present at the event.

“This facility at Sor Laspur will provide tourists with excellent lodging facilities to enjoy the landscape and will also serve as a base for hiking/trekking trips in the region. We appreciate UNDP’s efforts in efficiently executing this project and its timely handover,” said CTA project director Mohammad Ali Syed.

A top official of the UNDP said it was encouraging to see the community’s response and government’s ownership for this initiative.

“We look forward to continuing our partnership with the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to promote ecotourism and local livelihoods in the province,” he said.

The project is planned to start immediately, and the sites are targeted to be completed by Sept 2024.

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1 Comment
  1. شیر ولی خان اسیر says

    یو این ڈی پی کے اس عطیے کی قدر کرتے ہیں۔ یارخون ویلی میں بھی اس قسم کی سہولت میسر ہو جائے تو بروغل اور قرمبرہ جھیل کی طرف جانے والے سیاحوں کو بڑی آسانی میسر آئے گی۔

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