Islamabad, October 10 — The three-day Balochistan Grand Tourism Festival opened at Lok Virsa, bringing the province’s rich culture and heritage into the national spotlight. Stalls across the venue displayed traditional cuisine, clothing and cultural artifacts drawn from Balochistan’s diverse communities and archival collections, offering visitors a vivid sense of the region’s heritage and tourism potential.
Mir Sarfaraz Khan Bugti inaugurated the festival and said the event will help promote Balochistan’s culture across Pakistan. He described the province as a land of hospitable people whose seas, mountains and plains welcome visitors, and he committed to a one-window operation to address investor and partner concerns to accelerate Balochistan tourism.
Aurangzeb Khan Khichi welcomed the chief guest and praised the collaboration behind the festival. Parliamentary Secretary Mir Zareen Khan Bugti highlighted natural attractions that can drive visitor numbers, naming beaches at Gadani, Kund Malir and Golden Beach Gwadar, the Hingol forests and the world-renowned juniper forests of Ziarat, as well as religious tourism at the Hinglaj Mata temple.
Lt. Gen. (R) Hasan Azhar Hayat Khan, managing director of Green Tourism, urged meaningful involvement of local communities to ensure sustainable benefits from tourism. He proposed establishing a Tourism Police to safeguard visitors and improve the province’s image, and recommended launching cruises and ferries to expand coastal tourism while broadening religious tourism options.
Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan welcomed the initiative as an important step in projecting a positive image of Balochistan and encouraged domestic investment, saying that strengthening local tourism will attract further interest. Secretary Culture and Tourism Sohail Rehman Baloch thanked participants and commended the Ministry of Culture and Lok Virsa for highlighting Balochistan’s cultural assets.
The festival continues for three days, inviting national and international donors, private firms and travellers to explore opportunities in Balochistan tourism as the province showcases its cultural wealth and untapped visitor destinations.
