THIS is apropos the Khyber Pakhtunkwha government`s decision to convert resthouses owned by it in Nathiagali into public guest houses. The provincial government has done well by opening its elite resthouses to the public at large and hand over their possession to the provincial tourism corporation for running them on commercial lines.
There is a need that the private sector may also be associated by the KP government with its efforts to boost tourism in Nathiagali. This need can be easily fulfilled if the owners of private residential houses in Nathiagali, who hitherto are not allowed to make commercial use of their houses under the prevailing by-laws of the Galiyat Development Authority, are also allowed to convert their houses into guest-houses on payment of a one-time conversion fee.
The commercialisation of private residences would bring more revenue to the government as unlike the government and KP Tourism Corporation that enjoy tax exemptions, considerable revenue would be collected from the owners of private houses in the form of tax on their incomes.
