20000324

PGBC to take up

German 'Travel

Hints' against

visit to Pakistan

RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: The Pakistan German Business Council (PGBC) will take up the issue of bad image created by the 'travel hints' to visitors to Pakistan, on the home page of the German foreign office.

According to a PGBC press release, this could prevent businessmen and tourists from coming here. Whereas India, apart from a few disturbed areas, such as Kashmir, is considered, according to home page of the German foreign office, as a "relatively safe country," Pakistan does not enjoy such a positive classification.

The security hints handed out by German travel agents to their customers are not very encouraging to select Pakistan. Though there is no express general warning to avoid Pakistan, even a harmless hint, such as the recommendation to book transportation from the Karachi airport in advance, has a high weight in a bundle of other warnings.

Other warnings are: high crime rate in Karachi, violence because of ethnic and political reasons, recommendation to go to Moenjodaro only by air, danger of more bomb blasts in Karachi, Hyderabad and Lahore, not to visit tribal areas of Balochistan and NWFP without guide and recommendation not to visit Azad Kashmir and the LoC.

There is no information yet as to what was achieved by Pakistani participants in the just concluded, ITB Berlin, one of the most known tourist promotion events for the global tourism industry which attracts more than 100,000 visitors, more than half professionals from Germany and abroad.

The Pakistan German Business Council is one of the most active of FPCCI councils and hopes to celebrate the 150th member in less than eleven months. The moving spirit behind the PGBC is Herbert te Kloot, consultant to FPCCI, who is devoting considerable time to see trade and traffic grow between Pakistan and Germany. Although a German national, te Kloot loves Pakistan, as much as, if not more, his own country of birth.