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Swat wakes up to tourists
Local hoteliers offer free stay to attract visitors. Now that’s an offer not to miss
By Javed Aziz Khan
To lure the tourists back to the picturesque valley of Swat, the local hoteliers offer free stay to tourists visiting Bahrain, Madyan and Kalam. The offer is valid until January 20, 2010. One hundred and fifty hotels have been reserved for free stay to tourists.
The poor publicity of the package though has not attracted tourists in large numbers, yet many have landed in Swat – to relive their past memories of once peaceful scenic valley. “Special security arrangements have been made for the visitors. They are properly served and facilitated,” says Rahmat Siddiqi, General Secretary, Kalam Hotels Association.
“All 150 hotels and restaurants in Kalam will offer free stay to individuals and families,” says Zahid Khan, President Swat Hotel Association, adding they received 125 tourists on the first two days of the offer – “You can witness the festivity in the main towns of the valley. A large number of families are here to enjoy the cold weather.”
So far, “The area has remained peaceful. Girls are enjoying school,” emphasises Mohammad Idrees Khan, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Malakand.
Swat is slowly but steadily returning to normalcy. After the military operation to eliminate the militants’ network in the Malakand division, it is more peaceful than any other part of NWFP, except Hazara division.
The tourist industry that was hit hard by militancy is catching momentum. Cinemas are screening Urdu and Pashto language films. Swatis and tourists thronged the music gala held on Jan 10 and the sports festival organised in Mingora recently. The festivities are returning and the locals are joyous. Once again they have a lot to offer to the visitors.
Swat once hosted hundreds of thousands of guests from all over the country and abroad. It was a profitable industry that employed thousands of Swatis in tourism-related professions.
“This is just the beginning. We are hoping to revive full-fledged tourism in the coming summer season if the government honours its commitment to repair roads and improve other facilities,” says Farmanullah, a luxury hotel owner.
The valley’s infrastructure needs a revamp. For instance, the road leading to Kalam from Mingora is pathetic. The issue has been discussed repeatedly in the NWFP assembly but no action has yet been taken.
After a meeting with the owners of local hotels, the provincial government announced to set up a ski resort in Kalam. This would be the second in Swat Valley after Malam Jabba which was ruined by militants after they captured it in 2008.
The government while expressing its commitment to boost the hotel industry has recently held meeting with hoteliers. NWFP Minister Ayub Ashari, MPA Jafar Shah and Brigadier Zubair have had discussions on the repair of the Mingora-Kalam road and Mataltan-Maodhand road with hotel owners in Kalam and Bahrain. They have also pondered on interest-free loans to hotel owners who have suffered huge losses in the last three years.
The military authorities, while honouring their commitment with the hotel owners, have reduced the number of checkpoints. “It is a great initiative on part of the hotel association. These areas were safe even while the operation was going on. Yet, tourists shied away from visiting the area as the road meandered through the troubled parts of Swat,” says Ayub Ashari, a NWFP cabinet member.
“We own a home in Bahrain where we used to stay in summers and sometime in winters for the past two decades. We haven’t visited the place since the trouble started in the valley. Now peace has returned, and one hopes the government will improve the road condition and minimize the number of checkpoints to make travelling easy, especially from Galiat and Murree,” says Mohammad Idrees Bacha, a local politician of Malakand. He opines the offer needs better publicity in media.