PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has transferred the administrative control of its 15 rest houses in Galiyat to the tourism department saying the move will boost tourism in the province by providing tourists with a comfortable stay in the region.

In a statement issued here on Friday, Tourism Corporation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa managing director Mushtaq Ahmad Khan said his organisation had prepared a comprehensive operational plan under which rest houses could be rented by anybody at market rate from Eidul Fitr onwards.

`We have devised a booking guideline, details of which will be available soon on the TCKP website i.e. www.kptourism.com. Besides booking policy, the operational plan also covers categorisation of rest houses based on their quality, room rental or full rest house reservation, and booking facility for government servants during their official duty and private visits,` he said.

Af ter the PTI came to power in the province after the 2013 general elections, the party chairman, Imran Khan, had announced the government would privatise the government`s rest houses. Implementing his directives, 15 rest houses had been transferred to the tourism department in Galiyat region for one-year lease on trial basis to generate revenue.

These rest houses will be further leased out to the private sector under a public-private partnership programme.

Under the plan, the current staff of rest houses will continue their duty and get training on hotel management, hospitality and services.

After meeting the recurring expenditure on conservation of some architectural marvels, utilities and salaries, the amount of the rest houses will be divided according to a net profit sharing formula i.e. 75 percent of Galiyat Development Authority (GDA) and 25 percent of TCKP.

The larger share (75 per cent) will go to the cash-starved GDA under a special plan for carrying out `Model Social Welfare Activities/Programme` in the vicinity of these rest houses and also for accomplishing development work for the local community. TCKP GM (properties and admin) Sajjad Hamid said a special properties wing would also be established to manage affairs of rest houses whilst serving as a setup for centralised bookings.

`The rest houses along with the Tourist Information Centres (TICs) at Peshawar, Islamabad, Abbottabad, Dongagali will offer on-the-spot booking whereas an online booking mechanism is also being developed on the TCKP tourism portal which will be connected with international online booking services,` he said.-Bureau Report