Tourism sector gets a much-needed boost as corona cases declined

The coronavirus-hit tourism sector of the country got a much-needed boost during the past week as tourists swarmed in from all over the country to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's cooler tourist resorts to have fun.

The government recently reopened the tourism industry 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 from spreading.

In the post-lock down situation this year, the trend of the last 10 days showed that the inflow of tourists in KP has posted an almost 100% growth, with an average of 50,000 tourists visiting the northern areas of the country each day as compared to the 25,000 in the corresponding period.

However, there is another side of the picture. As tourists continue to arrive at the tourist locations in large numbers, fears of a second wave of the coronavirus have started to hover as people exhibit irresponsible behaviour towards the precautionary measures. Many were found ignoring the SOPs and violating social distancing rules, not wearing masks and not using hand sanitisers.

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.

However, reports said that some of the hotels reopened after a disinfection drive.