New liberal visa regime to attract foreign investors, tourists: PFC

March 14, 2019: Pakistan Furniture Council (PFC) on Thursday hailed Prime Minister Imran Khan’s new visa regime and expressed hope that this new policy would attract foreign investors, and tourists besides giving impetus to economic growth of the country on long term basis.

PFC Chief Executive Mian Kashif Ashfaq in a statement said that the hotel industry would also flourish with tourism and this would help furniture industry to benefit from this opportunity.

He said despite huge potential, tourism sector contributes only three percent of the GDP which is approx. $8 billion. This figure is expected to grow to $10 billion till 2025 after the new visa policy.

He said government initiative of opening Kartarpur Boarder would surely draw positive impacts. These places can be developed to promote historical, religious and beach tourism, respectively.

He said this visa policy would also help furniture sector to boost its export and may attract foreign investors and buyers especially from Asia where the rising disposable incomes, improving consumer lifestyles and a significant increase in the gross domestic products largely supplement the growth of the market in Asian region.

Moreover, he said there is a large scope for Pakistani furniture makers to capture the international market and can cope with its arch-rival India in export of furniture items if the government declare furniture and interior decoration the industry status besides announcing a package of incentives to local manufacturers so that they could enhance the volume of their export items to gain their significant share in international market.

He said the PFC is taking all required steps to promote of traditional furniture as well as adding the efficiency of modern methods by introducing training centers and arranging exhibitions.

(APP)