Punjab Tourism Squad
Objectives
Tourism Department, Govt. of Punjab has taken a Tourist-Friendly initiative by introducing the "PUNJAB TOURISM SQUAD" keeping in view of the problems tourists face in finding places, getting answers of their queries, registering their complaints and for coordination among different departments like Punjab police, local health department, traffic police, Rescue-1122, local administration. It is aimed at promotion of safe and responsible tourism in the province of Punjab. PTS will work in three zones of Punjab (North, Central, and South). For guidance and facilitation of tourist, it has also provided a UAN "1421" managed by PITB where any tourist/visitor in Punjab can register their complaint or query and PITB representative will divert that to the respective Department/zone of PTS.
Trainings
Rescue Training
To deal with the emergency situations faced by the tourists, PTS underwent rigorous training at Punjab Emergency Services Department (RESCUE-1122), H.Q. Lahore including First-Aid, Swimming, driving heavy bikes, repairing bikes and other vehicles, as well as various physical activities for their own physical fitness to perform efficiently in extreme/harsh weather conditions in a mountainous region like Murree.
ITHM Training
One of important aspects of PTS training was to transform it into a tourist-friendly force. This objective was achieved through its training at The Institute of Tourism & Hotel Management (ITHM) under TDCP by means of regular daily lectures on ethics, attitude and behavior transformation, so communication skills for public dealing and tourist friendly gestures for their guidance and facilitation. Meanwhile, senior officers from tourism department and renowned guest speakers from various walks of public life addressed members of Punjab Tourism Squad for their learning, motivation and inspiration to achieve outcomes of the training.
Deployment of PTS
- Northern Zone
- Central Zone
- Southern Zone
Initially, the PTS has been posted in Murree since 13 August 2022. Afterwards, it will be deployed in central Punjab (Lahore & adjoining areas) & South Punjab ( Multan/ Bahawalpur/D.G Khan) as per need particularly on the eve of special occasions like national celebration days (14 August/independence day, 23 March/Pakistan day, 6 September/defence day, 27 September/world tourism day, etc), religious festivals at Shrines, mosques, annual Urs, Guru Nanak Sahib birthday celebrations (kartarpur corridor), Besakhi event, Jeep rallies held at Cholistan/ Thal desert and other festivals related to tourism in Punjab. PTS will not only provide guidance and facilitation to the tourists but will also be ready 24/7 for any kind of help of tourists by coordinating with other departments like Rescue-1122, Traffic Police, Punjab Police, Local Administration, etc through its UAN helpline 1421 managed by PITB.
