ISLAMABAD, Oct 21 (APP):A four-day festival to support small businesses of Upper-Hunza and promote autumn tourism in the valley started here at Passu village.
“The festival of North Gojal Chapter” was jointly organised by Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) and Small Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) in the wake of recent floods and the decline of tourist activity in the area.
A number of activities were planned for the visitors to help explore the hidden treasure of Gojal Valley including ‘Autumn Safari’, hiking, camping, rock climbing and experiencing the breathtaking views on the Passu cone trail and glacier treks.
Multiple stalls including handicrafts, gemstones jewellery, local cuisine and dry fruits were displayed at the arena of the festival.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, SMEDA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Hashim Reza extended his gratitude to PTDC, civil administration and the local community for organizing the event. He said recent floods had affected the tourism badly that was why such kind of initiative was imperative to revive inbound tourism in the country.
SMEDA, he said, was assisting local community of Hunza to promote their products not only at national level but across the globe. He expressed the hope that this festival would be conducted annually at par with other international tourism events.
Manager Publicity and Promotions PTDC, Sadia Nauman said the corporation was trying to attract foreign as well as local tourists to explore hidden treasure of autumn season in the northern areas. “We want to support locals through tourism promotion and development as small industries is the only source of living for them,” she remarked. She appreciated SMEDA for providing people of Hunza an opportunity to showcase their talent through participating in this event.
President Hunza Chamber of Small Traders and Small Industry Mubarak Hussain said it was the peak season of autumn in Hunza, but unfortunately this year due to floods tourist influx was very low. GB economy’s main source was SMEs and tourism, he said while appealing the government to establish food processing zones especially in central and upper Hunza for fruits and vegetables to export to other countries.
