Tourism is thriving after 4 months of COVID lockdown as thousands of people flock to northern areas in Pakistan and now tourist sites are extremely crowded amid the fear of the second wave of coronavirus as SOPs are not being observed.
The coronavirus-hit tourism sector of the country got a much-needed boost during the past couple of weeks as tourists swarmed in from all over the country to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s cooler tourist resorts to have fun. The tourism industry has just been opened which was welcome news for millions in Pakistan who had to stay indoors for the past five to six months after provincial governments imposed lockdowns to curb the virus spread.
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As the tourism sector resumes in full gear in Pakistan after lockdown, the second wave of Covid is feared as people are not even taking precautionary measures. No social distancing is being observed and violation of SOPs is common. No one is using hand sanitizers nor are masks worn.
After the 4 months of lockdown this year, the trend of the last 10 days showed that the inflow of tourists in KP has posted an almost 100% growth that makes almost 50,000 tourists are visiting northern areas each day.
Moreover, the Kaghan Development Authority reportedly imposed a smart lockdown in various areas the other day and sealed several hotels and restaurants in view of the violations of guidelines by tourists. But, reports said that some of the hotels reopened after a disinfection drive.
According to the statistics shared by the KP tourism department, 282,525 vehicles entered in six districts of KP while 222,841 left those spots from August 13 to 20. At least 169,750 vehicles went to Abbottabad, 82,627 to Swat, 24,181 to Mansehra, 2,744 to Upper Dir, 1,733 to lower Chitral, and 1490 to Lower Dir. Likewise, 745,235 travelers visited those six districts from August 13 to 20, whereas 613,514 left.
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