In an attempt to promote tourism, the Punjab Tourism Department Corporation (PTDC) has launched a bus service running from Lahore to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, and many other places of historic and religious importance across South Punjab.
According to the travel plan of this bus service, it will take one day to tour Kartarpur, and will cover the remaining destination within three days.
As per the tourism secretary, another bus service for Nankana Sahib, Pakpattan, Kasur, and Hassan Abdal will also be started under the second phase of this program.
The tourists visiting the area are of the view that increasing access to places of historical importance, and opening doors to religious tourism is a brilliant idea. “This will help project the historical and cultural heritage of Punjab to the world,” a tourist suggested.
The PTDC also arranged a tour recently through its bus service for local tour operators, and journalists to visit the aforementioned religious destinations.
The first destination of the tour was the city of Multan, which is home to the shrines of Shah Shams Sabzwari, Hazrat Shah Rukn-e-Alam, Hussain Agahi Bazaar, and Hazrat Bahauddin Zakaria.
On the second day, tourists visited Bahawalpur, which is known as the city of nawabs, and witnessed the city’s blue-pottery factories and the ancient royal mosque. On the next day, a visit to the historic fort of Dravidian, and the Nawab family’s burial ground was arranged in Ahmadpur Sharqiya.
A local historian, Mohsin Faraz, who was also on the PTDC’s tour, praised the provincial government’s initiative and remarked that such initiatives can open up new avenues of prosperity and development in Punjab. “This is a region with a wealth of history and culture and promoting tourism here will let the world experience and appreciate all that South Punjab has to offer,” he added.
Zonal officer of PTDC in Multan, Misbah Ahmed, said that tourists have been pouring in nonstop since the inception of this program and that they are especially excited to visit the fort of Derawar as the Cholistan Jeep Rally comes to an end here.
