Srinagar: Kashmir witnessing a heavy snowfall this year has proved to be a boon for the tourism industry as it has led to tourists thronging the Valley in droves.
A travel agent while talking to Precious Kashmir said, “Tourism industry had taken hit during the past two years but it has once again started coming back on the track. It appears that things are moving as the visitors are returning.”
He said, “During the past two years the tourism industry in Kashmir had collapsed. It appears that 2021 has come with a promise. At present Gulmarg is witnessing a good rush and other resorts too have the presence of tourists. We are hoping that the coming season will be good and it will help us to overcome the losses that we have suffered since August 5, 2019, when J&K’s special status was abrogated.”
It’s in place to mention here just two days before the scrapping of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, the authorities issued an advisory asking the tourists and Amarnath pilgrims to leave Kashmir, which led to the visitors moving out. The restrictions and the shutdown that followed kept the life disrupted till December 2019. When the life started limping back to normal in March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic broke out which once again led to everything coming to a grinding halt.However, since the day COVID norms have been relaxed, things are looking up.
A hotelier said, “We have started receiving advance bookings as people have shown interest in visiting the Valley. We have kept our fingers crossed and are hoping that nothing goes wrong this year. The heavy snowfall has revived the tourism industry but still there is a long way to go.”
A stakeholder who wished not to be named said, “The Tourism Department is trying to take credit for tourists returning to Kashmir but the fact is that it’s just a publicity stunt. The department failed to help us when we needed it the most. We were left in lurch by the officials. The so-called special package to provide us with the succor never came.”
He said, “Many people associated with the tourism industry have been in touch with the agents across the country to send tourists to the Valley. Our efforts have borne fruits.”
An official of the Tourism Department said, “We have been trying our best to woo the tourists. We are doing whatever we can to put the tourism industry back on the track. If stakeholders have any grudge they should approach the department and we will see what we can do.”
“Earlier, we were told not to come up with a huge number of session sites. But, we have now been told to increase the session sites. With the increase in number of session sites, it is possible that nearly 10,000 health workers will be vaccinated in a single day.”
State Immunization Officer J&K, DrQazi Haroon
