The tourist influx at scenic spots of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) was on rise as around 33,027 people from across the country visited various des-tinations in one day to enjoy the pleasant weather. Different places of KP province are known for low temperature in Summer season and are the main reason of attraction for tourists from plain cities where mercury even touched 45 C mark.
The statistics issued daily by KP Integrated Tourism Development Project (KITE) on Wednesday re-vealed that Galiyat attracted 16,311 tourists, Kaghan/Naran 13,321, Malam Jabba 2,140, Chitral Lower 638 and areas of Upper Dir fascinated 452 tourists.
A senior official at KITE said the hotel industry was doing a good business due to rise in Summer tour-ism. Moreover, a large number of tourists are also expected during Eid ul Azha holidays. The admini-stration is in process of finalizing all arrangements to facilitate tourists particularly during holidays.
When asked, the official said Murree was already attracting a large number of domestic tourists on daily basis especially during weekend. Furthermore, schools Summer vacations are also the other reason of increase in tourists influx. A domestic tourist Benish Atif said, she recently visited northern areas said that hotel rates were too high, besides most of the food outlets were serving unhygienic foods.
While expensive traveling in jeeps and other means of transportation was another hassle for the tourists who have to pay extra charges to visit in and around of the areas they visit. Similarly, another tourist from Punjab in a telephonic conversation said that the hotels in different hilly areas also charge exorbi-tant prices, demanding the relevant authorities to form regulation and set affordable daily charges for hotel accommodations.
