KARACHI - PIA has planed to establish a Planetarium and an aviation gallery in Moenjodaro. This was stated by Deputy Managing Director PIA, Salim Sayani while speaking at a conference sponsored by PIA and organised by Investment & Marketing Conferences at a local hotel. The conference was titled: Pakistan Aviation and Travel Industry: Synergy and Growth. Deputy Managing Director PIA, Salim Sayani gave an elaborate presentation on re-branding of Pakistan through innovation in the travel industry. He spoke about perception vs reality, the role of travel and tourism industry (past, present and future) and the role of public private partnership. He also discussed about the annual arrival of passengers (share of countries in percentage terms) within the region. He said that India has a 48pc share in the regional tourism industry whereas Pakistan has 4pc, Sri Lanka 7pc, Bangladesh 4pc, Maldives 8pc and Iran 24pc. Aggressive marketing, better tourist services and facilities can improve the situation. He said that there was a time when Pakistan ranked among the top 25 tourist destination in the world. During the past 10 years subsequent to the September 11, this ranking continued to decline. The natural disasters such as the earthquake and the floods of 2010 and the security situation in Pakistan; the rating has further gone down. He further said that Pakistan is the sixth largest country in the word by population but the number of tourists is less than a hundred thousand. He said Pakistan has indeed one of the most beautiful regions in the world with attractions like Moenjodaro, Harappa, Taxila sites along the Himalayan Mountains, Chitral and Hunza valleys etc. Efforts can further be accelerated through participation of private sector which could make the future of tourism industry bright and prosperous. In this regard, he said PIA will soon launch a mega event on the resurrection of Indus Valley Civilization (The Moenjodaro Chapter) in the month of November to highlight the rich culture of the country and to promote soft image of Pakistan. The conference was attended by officials PIA, Civil Aviation Authority, Foreign Airlines, Domestic Airlines, Ground Handling Services, Air Freight, Travel Agencies and Ticketing Software Companies.