Jovago.com joins hands with Standard Chartered to promote tourism

Pakistan’s No 1 Hotel Booking website has joined hands with Standard Chartered to promote tourism

Karachi, the 10th of February 2016: Jovago.com, Pakistan’s largest Online Hotel booking website has partnered with Standard Chartered Pakistan to strengthen the tourism industry of Pakistan.

Always at the forefront of taking new initiatives, Jovago aims to make travel easy and affordable for tourists wanting to explore the beautiful sites of Pakistan. Through this partnership, all Standard Chartered cardholders can now avail 20 per cent discount on their hotel bookings when they book via Jovago.com. This is in line with Jovago’s objective to provide travelers with multiple payment options for increased convenience. Jovago and Standard Chartered together, will be able to boost the use of credit cards and online hotel bookings.

Nadine Malik, Managing Director of Jovago Pakistan said, “Jovago is the pioneer of online hotel booking in Pakistan and in one year’s time it has created a positive impact for tourism in Pakistan. We believe that this partnership will generate positive feedback, encouraging more people to travel within Pakistan.”

Commenting on this partnership Mr. Shezad Arif, Head of Retail Banking said, “Standard Chartered Pakistan, consistent with its brand promise of being Here For Good, is keen on building long term alliances with reputable partners, resulting in synergies and value addition for our card members. The added benefit to the credit and debit card offering is a tremendous achievement that reflects well on the work, commitment and success of both Jovago and Standard Chartered.”

 About Jovago

Jovago.com is an online hotel booking service with several offices in Africa and Asia founded by Asia Pacific Internet Group and has Rocket Internet and Ooredoo as investors. Jovago.com, Africa’s and Pakistan’s No.1 booking portal, facilitates the booking process for its users to provide them with the best hotel booking experience with fast, transparent and easy-to-use services. Jovago.com has over 25,000 local hotel listings across Africa and Asia and over 200,000 hotels around the world.

Surprise Your Spouse This Valentine’s Day

A husband and wife’s relationship cannot be confined to a single day. Marriage means more than living together for the rest of one’s life. It is about love, togetherness, good, bad, memories, events and happenings, compromises, agreements, disagreements and the strength that they provide each other in every step of life.

Valentine’s Day is one of the many occasions that can be celebrated to express the loving and caring bond a married couple shares. 14^thFebruary is just around the corner and all couples would want to make this day special for their partner. Celebrate the love you feel for your spouse by going out of your way to make it just perfect. It doesn’t necessarily have to be complicated but a thoughtful plan can be a great success. Jovago.com has come up with some ideas that might work great for you and your loved one.

 

Dedicate the day to surprises

You have the entire day to plan little surprises for your spouse. You can start by waking them up to their favorite breakfast followed a small gift that they would adore. Send them a bouquet of flowers at their workplace or home. Bake a heart shaped cake and present to them when they least expect it. Considering the little details is what makes everything special. You can never go wrong with surprises.

Take care of their work

Your spouse would love to hear the sentence, ‘you should take rest while I take care of your work’. Do their chores yourself and let them feel special. You are basically giving them a day off from their duties and nothing would be more special to get that leave from your loving partner.

Turn the house into a love zone

Some people don’t like going out but spending a warm and cozy day at home with no one else but their partner. This is your best opportunity to turn your house into a love zone. Decorate the house in red hearts. You can do this by using heart shaped cushions, scented candles, print your favorite pictures together, cut in a heart shape and hang them, play romantic music and enjoy the day.

Plan a surprise trip

This idea will definitely be a hit. For a couple, the best way to spend quality time together is to go on a vacation. This year, Valentine’s Day lies on a Sunday which means you have the weekend to yourself and you can easily plan out a mini vacation. Pakistan has many romantic locations like Murree,Neelum Valley, Bhurbhan and even metropolitan cities like Islamabad. You can log on to Jovago’s website to find great discounted deals on most romantic hotels in Pakistan.

Make sure that all these ideas stay a surprise for your partner and they don’t get a hint of it. No matter how big or small the surprise is, it’s the love, effort and pure dedication that really count.

Jovago’s tips on solving travel problems

If you’re a nervous flyer or suffer from Aviophobia (the fear of flying), we have a solution for you! 

1. Carry distractions with you such as novels, music or a friend. A new app called “Am I Going Down?” uses aviation statistics to analyze the odds a flight will crash. Download this prior to your flight and your worries should disappear!

2. Your wallet is stolen? Jovago can help solve this problem by saving you through online check-in’s and payments. This way, if you lose some money, you’ll still have paid for your stay!

3. You missed your flight? Stay calm and do not freak out. Converse with the airline politely and they will book you on the next flight available or accommodate you in a hotel. For future flights, keep a backup alarm and if staying at a hotel, ask them to remind you also!

4. Your hotel is disappointing? If you’re unsatisfied with your hotel, Jovago will find you the next best option with a better deal transforming your stay in seconds!

5. You’re unable to find a cheap flight? Check out Jovago’sarticle about top travel app’s to follow! One of our favorites is Sky scanner that will always help you search for the cheapest option.

6. Communication barrier? If you fear not being understood in a foreign country that could lead to problems, do not worry! Jovago ensures that local travel advisors help you find your best accommodation in your language.

7. Not being able to afford your vacation? This is a common problem that we have faced continuously, but has now been solved. Jovago will help you budget your trip, so you are able to stay in a cheap but luxurious hotel. Reviews on our website help you locate inexpensive places to dine and visit.

8. If I travel alone, won’t I get bored? Not at all! Jovago’s blog has covered monumental cities around           the world providing you with a list of places to explore. This ensures that your trip will be packed               with adventure, food and a culturally fulfilling experience

Need stressed for single digit sales tax to enhance tax base

Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry in collaboration with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) organized a seminar on sales tax on services and inter-provincial harmonization. A large number of business community and tax professionals attended the event.

The event highlighted that after the passage of 18th amendment to the constitution, three provinces except for Baluchistan, have established their own tax authorities for collection of sales tax on services, however, the issues like overlapping between federal & provincial tax authorities and double taxation were creating problems for taxpayers. They were of the opinion that federal government should have drafted a framework within which provinces could tax services. They said without cross provincial consensus and inter-provincial harmonization on tax collection of sales tax on services, there would be issues of double taxation and excessive administration burden both on the businesses and tax authorities.

The experts observed that very high tax rates in Pakistan were promoting culture of tax evasion and government should focus on low tax rates for enhancing tax base and improving tax revenue of the country. The businessmen said that tax regime in Pakistan was very complicated with multiple tax rates as taxpayers were paying almost 10 different taxes in addition to many indirect taxes. They said businessmen wanted to pay tax, but high taxes and difficult tax system were the main hurdle in better tax compliance. They said government should simplify tax system and introduce single digit sales tax rate in order to attract more taxpayers into the tax net.

Atif Ikram Sheikh President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry in his welcome address said that positive changes were happening gradually in the tax system and stressed that government should make tax policies in consultation with trade bodies by addressing their key concerns on tax matters.

Chas Roy-Chowdhury ACCA’s Head of Global Taxation, Arif Masud Mirza Regional Head of Policy MENASA ACCA Hammad Siddiqui Acting Country Director Centre for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), Muhammad Yasir Technical Advisor Tax Compliance FBR and others also addressed the event and called for simplified tax system. It was stressed that SMEs should also focus on improving their financial management skills to deal with tax matters more effectively. It was urged that educating taxpayers including SMEs on tax compliance was key to promote tax culture and improve tax revenue. Experts stressed that trade bodies across the country should play their role for improving tax compliance and minimizing informal economy.

7 Misconceptions about the Internet

Life in today’s world is incomplete without internet access. Don’t we all agree with it, definitely! Although we can’t function without wireless internet but how many of us know the basics about it, if not technicalities. Jovago.com has identifies some major misconceptions about the internet. Let’s look at and try to clear them out.

1. The former vice president Al Gore invented the Internet. Although he did play a fundamental role in its creation, he never meant to take sole credit for the creation of the Internet. Unfortunately, during an interview his words were wrongly phrased.

2. Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) is tracking your Internet use. An ISP is your local link to the worldwide computer network. However, for an ISP to save the web histories of every user would be too expensive and a huge invasion of privacy.

3. The Internet is filled with sexual predators and wary parents want to inhibit their child from using it. The Internet has provided another medium for pedophiles to find children, but instead of banning children from social media, they should be taught to maintain healthy relationships.

4. Everything you read on the Internet is true. This is completely false. The Internet houses several social media and news publication sites, and the distinction between Fox News and the New York Times proves that every side has a different argument and some facts may not be true.

5. The Internet will make you rich! This is almost always a spam. Have any of you received a message along the lines of ‘If you do not share this within the next 24 hours Bill Gates won’t give you $1000 dollars?’ Those who have shared it now that, the outcome is not true.

6. Web cookies are dangerous and should be avoided! Cookies are plain text files which a website can store on your computer with information to manage your browsing. They cannot access or modify files or settings on your computer. Generally they are quite helpful keeping you logged in to your favorite websites saving you from having to enter your login data every time you visit.

7. The web is the Internet. The Internet came into existence on January 1st 1983 and the web was invented in 1989. The World Wide Web is made up of servers and clients (Google Chrome and Safari) that display the page. The Internet is the set of technologies beneath the web that enable the web to exist. If the Internet didn’t exist, the web would not be able to function; if the web didn’t exist, the Internet still would.

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Sneak Preview of Gujranwala- The City of Wrestlers

Gujranwala, also known as the city of wrestlers (pehelwaano da shehr) for giving top wrestlers to the country, is a city based in Punjab and is the 7th most populous city of Pakistan. It is one of the fastest growing cities of Pakistan and has currently become an important industrial city. The local language spoken there is purely Punjabi with Urdu and English being used as a second language. Gujranwala essentially has a hot climate but also experiences low temperatures during winters.

The city has extensive road and rail links which has helped it flourish in the industries including manufacturing and agriculture. It has a strategic roadway connecting it to other metropolitan cities of Punjab. Gujranwala is known for its extensive production of sugarcane, melons and grains for international export.

JOVAGO’S TOP 3

GurdwaraRori Sahib

GurdwaraRori Sahib is located 2 kilometers south-east of Eminabad, an old town between Lahore and Gujranwala. It is a sacred shrine and holds its significance as Guru Nanak had stayed here after the destruction of the town. It has a large pond in its locale and other stunning buildings surround it, making the site more attractive.

Nishan-e-Manzil

It is a monument which was made in the memory of soldiers who lost their lives during the wars of 1965 & 1971. Many tourists visit the place and remember the martyrs. The landscaping of Nishan-e-Manzil is beautifully done. There is also a lake for the tourists to enjoy boating activities in.

GhantaGhar

This is the famous clock tower situated in Gujranwala. It marks the center of the city and is generally very crowded. If you want to explore the city, this is an important landmark to see.

TIPS

Restaurants

You will easily find the top international food chains in Gujranwala. Apart from that, some famous Pakistani restaurants that one must try are Bundoo Khan, ShahbazTikka and Royal garden that not only have great food but also good ambience.

Shopping

Mall 1, PACE and Aleena shopping malls are the most famous for shopping where you can find anything you would need to buy.

Hotels

If you are planning a last minute trip to Gujranwala, you can easily access Jovago.com, browse, select and book a hotel for your stay out of the many reasonable options present. You will find the best price guaranteed.

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Celebrating Kashmir Day

Kashmir Day is also known as Kashmir Solidarity Day and is celebrated on the 5th of February. This annual national holiday is observed not only in Azad Kashmir but throughout Pakistan.

Different political parties considered this day to be celebrated as a national holiday. The idea was first proposed in 1990 and after many considerations, it was collectively declared as a public holiday to be celebrated every year throughout Pakistan.

The holiday holds enormous significance and is marked by public processions, special prayers in mosques for the liberty of Kashmir and protests that are carried out against the Indian domination of Kashmir.Solidarity rallies are held in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan and in the United Kingdom by Mirpuri Kashmiris.

Another hallmark of this day is the formation of a human chain on all six major bridges leading to Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK) from Pakistan. People gather together and stand in rows holding hands, reassuring the Kashmiris that they are not alone in their struggle for freedom.

The day provides recognition to the support, that Pakistan provided when the people of Indian-administered Kashmir, were struggling for their freedom. It pays homage to Kashmiri martyrs who lost their lives fighting for Kashmir’s ongoing struggle for freedom.

The entire state of Jammu and Kashmir was claimed by India and, as of 2010, administers approximately 43% of the region. They control Jammu, the Kashmir Valley, Ladakh, and the Siachen Glacier. India’s claims are opposed by Pakistan, which administers approximately 37% of Kashmir, namely Azad Kashmir and the Northern Areas.

The Kashmir valley is symbolically referred to as “paradise on earth”. The valley is shown in modern art as being overwhelmed by flames, depicting unrest, uproar and peril in heaven. Speaking of heaven, Kashmir is one of the top tourist places in Pakistan that one must visit. The beauty that can be experienced in Kashmir is exceptional.

In 2016, take out one minute from your day to pray for Kashmir and support them. This moment of silence is for the martyrs that rest in peace and those people who continue to fight for their freedom. Or, you may also plan a trip to Kashmir and celebrate the day with the natives.

Kashmir day falls on a Friday this year, making the coming weekend a long one. It is very common for Pakistanis to utilize every long weekend. Then why not use this precise holiday to travel to the north and give Kashmir, the land of beauty, a visit. Make your online bookings through Jovago.com for the easiest and reliable experience you could get.

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