That is very kind of the Americans to do that. It is a damn shame that the GOP has no moral scruples. I last went to Swat in 2006. I hope peace remains as i do hope to go back there again one day.
Wanna go to Swat again?
About 300 hotels in Swat will get back into business soon as the US decides to support them in cash and kind
By Arshad Yusufzai
Hoteliers in Swat reeling from losses suffered from the military operations and floods have received support from an unlikely source. The US government has decided to provide cash and goods to 300 hotel owners in a bid to rehabilitate the tourism industry.
In the first phase, an amount of $4.5 million equivalent to Rs425 million was approved. According to Zahid Khan, President of the All Swat Hotels Association, the money has started reaching the affected hoteliers and brought happiness to them and all those connected to the hotel industry.
Hotel owners would receive the compensation amount in four instalments while the goods would be provided lump sum. The hotels have been categorised according to their services and hotel status.
However, the hoteliers felt that they should have been compensated on the basis of the damages sustained by their hotels due to militancy and floods. At present, they said the compensation amount was calculated on the basis of the number of rooms in each hotel.
According to a survey, out of a total of 850 hotels, about 60 were damaged due to militancy and another 107 were either swept away or severely damaged by the floods last July. The remaining hotels ran into loses, as tourists stayed away from the valley because of the law and order situation. From 2007 onwards, Swat”s tourism industry began to report major losses.
Zahid Khan credited Richard Holbrooke, President Obama”s Special Adviser on Pakistan and Afghanistan, for proposing the compensation package for Swat. “When Holbrooke visited Swat after the July 2010 floods, we apprised him about the losses suffered by the hotel owners. Later, I was invited to the US embassy in Islamabad to brief the officials about the hardships faced by the hoteliers,” he said.
However, Zahid Khan felt the survey conducted on the hotel damages in Swat was flawed. He argued that about 850 hotels were affected in one way or the other and the assessment survey and compensation package needs to be reviewed.
Known as the Switzerland of Pakistan due to its forested mountains, streams and rivers and pleasant summers, Swat was a princely state ruled by the Wali of Swat till 1969. It was in 1994-95 when the black-turbaned militants of the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM), waged an armed campaign in Swat and rest of the Malakand region. The movement, led by Maulana Sufi Muhammad, ended when the government agreed to implement Islamic law in the area. It was again in 2005 that Maulana Fazlullah and his men gained power and eventually took over most of Swat and parts of the adjoining districts.
In peaceful times, tourism was the third major source of income in Swat with an estimated half a million people directly or indirectly attached to the sector. According to the All Swat Hotels Association, about 15,000 people used to work in 885 hotels and restaurants while another 40,000 were indirectly linked to the hotel industry as stock suppliers and transporters. Skilled men and women making handicrafts lost their livelihoods when tourism collapsed from 2007 onwards as violence engulfed the valley and scared away tourists.
After Pakistan Army”s successful military operation that drove out the Taliban from power in the summer of 2009, the All Swat Hotels Association along with the Upper Swat Hotels Association and Kalam Hotels Association in an effort to revive the hotel industry offered a 10-day free stay to couples and families visiting Swat to enjoy the winter snowfall in late 2009. About 800 tourists from all over Pakistan responded and availed the offer.
The hoteliers, however, complained that the government and its tourism corporation failed to help them in putting the hotel industry back on track. They also claim that the provincial government forgot its promise to pay Rs5, 00,000 to every destroyed hotel.
The July floods caused further damage to the hotels and destroyed all hopes of revival of the hotel industry. To make matters worse, the road from Madyan to Kalam, a stretch of land comprising the most popular tourist destinations in Swat, was swept away by the floods to make all these places inaccessible.
In the twin towns of Mingora and Saidu Sharif, some revival of the hotels and restaurants has taken place, but the most important tourist spots such as Malam Jabba, Miandam, Madyan, Bahrain and Kalam are inaccessible or still not fully ready to receive tourists.
The skiing resort of Malam Jabba that was damaged at the hands of militants and during military action needs major repairs. Miandam escaped damage and could be reached and its hoteliers are expecting to receive more tourists this summer. Kalam, one of the most popular tourist attractions in Pakistan, is home to nearly 150 hotels and restaurants sited on the banks of river Swat. Its revival would give a major boost to the tourism industry in Swat.
Hoteliers in Swat are pushing for repairs and reconstruction of the major roads and other infrastructural development to make tourist spots in the valley once again accessible to the people. Nobody is expecting foreign tourists to come to Swat in the near future, but the improved security and road repairs would revive domestic tourism.
Government functionaries, military officials, analysts, hoteliers and the common Swatis are all convinced that revival of tourism would not only generate jobs and help revive the economy but also send the message that Swat once more is peaceful and worth paying a visit to.
Zahid Khan asked the government to declare tourism an industry, build roads to more than 12 alpine lakes in Swat and develop parks and picnic spots to facilitate tourists. “This will not only attract local tourists but also foreigners, who would help us in building Pakistan”s foreign exchange reserves,” he said.