BY GABRIELLE
The amusement and recreational parks industry in Pakistan has urged the government to allow the sector to use its expertise to help promote tourism in the country.
Designed to regulate cultural, adventure, religious and archaeological tourism, the national tourism coordination board was recently formed. The amusement park sector believes the board would benefit from its expertise by identifying tax incentives, infrastructure and facilities such as clubs and tourism branding, as a means of heightening tourism in the country.
Inamullah Abdullah, COO of AA Joyland Ltd., which operate recreational parks in Pakistan’s cities, including Joyland Park Lahore & Islamabad, Pavilon End Club Karachi and Aladdin Park Karachi, spoke of the need of the industry to be involved in the tourism board.
“The representation from amusement park industry in the said board is quite essential to promote the tourism industry as the amusement parks in the country have an annual financial turnover of over Rs 20 billion, while thousands of people are employed by the industry.
“This industry, with government support, can boost the tourism industry substantially and provide a hefty foreign exchange and tax revenue for the government.
“Not only that, but this would also reduce the scarcity of jobs in Pakistan,” Abdullah added.
Abdullah also noted how Disneyland and Universal Studio Adventure Park have contributed to the boom in tourism revenue in the United States.