Islamabad:National Tourism Coordination board (NTCB) Chairman Sayed Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari has said that the government was in process of introducing 'Brand Pakistan' to promote the country's tourism industry as a global brand.

The tenders for developing 'Brand Pakistan' had been floated and top private consultants would be hired shortly for the purpose, Zulfikar Bukhari said while addressing the 'Social Media Influencers' seminar.

The event was arranged by the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC), in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), to encourage v-loggers, bloggers and content producers for projecting true image of the country abroad. The NTCB chairman said the social media influencers had pivotal role in boosting inbound tourism in Pakistan as foreign tourists relied upon the online platforms to plan their trips and therefore, it is imperative to tap into and utilize the social media industry to portray Pakistan's true image internationally, which could not be projected in the past. "Reforms are being introduced into the PTDC to transform this organization so that it could play a leading role to promote tourism and attract local and foreign tourists," he said. PTDC Managing Director Syed Intikhab Alam said the draft National Tourism Strategy had been prepared after holding multiple consultative sessions with tourism experts of public and private sectors.

He said the PTDC was arranging a consultative workshop on December 26 to get the input of the NTCB members and tourism experts for finalization of the NTS draft. "The NTS is meant for ensuring the maximum utilization of its huge resources for sustained economic growth, poverty alleviation and reduced social inequalities," he said.