450 hotels, guest houses haven’t received any guests since COVID-19 outbreak: KHAROF
Gul Owais
Srinagar, Aug 6: Since July 13, when Jammu and Kashmir administration opened up the Union Territory for tourism, nearly 200 tourists have arrived in Kashmir.
Director Tourism, Kashmir, Nisar Ahmad Wani told Precious Kashmir that over 200 tourists from visited the Valley during the past more than 20 days.
“Today five tourists from outside J&K arrived in Kashmir,” Wani said, adding that everyday five to ten tourists have been arriving in the Valley.
The J&K Government on July 13 had reopened the Union Territory for the tourists. The tourists were asked to undergo mandatory COVID-19 tests and follow other Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) in letter and spirit.
Wani said that the arrival of over 200 tourists from outside J&K so far is not although cheerful for the tourism sector, but the process to woo the visitors is going on with full zeal. “The department has also started organizing webinars and other related programmes to encourage the tourists to visit Kashmir,” he added.
Pertinently, the tourism sector has been witnessing huge losses since August 3 last year, when the government issued an advisory, asking tourists present in the Valley to pack their bags and leave Kashmir immediately ahead of the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5.
The restrictions and unrest which followed hit the tourism sector hard and no activity was witnessed during the following months. The government withdrew the “travel advisory” to Kashmir three months after the revocation of Article 370 and opened up the Valley for tourism again. Situation couldn’t sustain for a long as the outbreak of deadly COVID-19 led to the cancellation of bookings thus resulting in the huge losses to tourism players in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Director Tourism said that the situation due to the COVID-19 is preventing tourists from visiting Kashmir. “Out of ten districts in Kashmir, nine have been declared as red zones. It is obvious that the people are taking precautions and are not visiting any place due to the ongoing pandemic. But efforts are on to woo the tourists,” he added.
“COVID-19 pandemic has to end for tourism industry to get revived,” the Director Tourism added.
Abdul Wahid Malik, president of Kashmir Hotels and Restaurant Owners Federation (KHAROF) said that around 450 hotels and guest houses registered with their association haven’t received any tourists since the COVID-19 outbreak.
He added that their hotels are deserted and no tourist is present there. “We have been informed that the tourists from outside J&K are arriving in Kashmir. But, our hotels are still waiting for the guests,” he added.
