Srinagar: Kashmir’s tourism fraternity raised concerns over low promotional efforts despite growth in the sector, urging the Chief Minister to appoint a tourism advisor to address challenges and boost tourism promotion.
Members of the tourism trade fraternity, while addressing a joint press conference in Srinagar, said the tourism sector in Kashmir has seen significant growth over the past 4-5 years.
As per news agency JKNS, one member, Nasir Shah, addressing presser said, “We have seen a boost in tourism, no doubt. Prime Minister Modi has, at times, spoken about Kashmir tourism, which has also contributed to this growth.”
He added, “Unfortunately, the promotional efforts from the Tourism Department are very low. By the grace of God, tourism is well-settled in Kashmir, but over the past four years, everyone has jumped into this sector.
Hotel bed capacity has increased to more than one lakh in Kashmir. We now have 15,000 to 20,000 homestays, and if each homestay has four rooms, that’s about 60,000 rooms. While tourism is thriving, it is not as good as we think. Budget tourism is still lacking, and although tourists are coming, especially over the last 15 to 20 days due to snow, it’s not enough to meet expectations, Nasir said.”
Shah further emphasized the need to push J&K tourism through better promotion. “We were not having a political dispensation, but somehow we managed to approach the LG and inform him about our difficulties. Now that the people have elected a government with a full mandate, we hope for better results, he said.
During Omar Abdullah’s tenure, the government might have appointed an advisor for this sector to ensure that our concerns reached the government. We request the current government to elect an advisor for tourism.”
He also raised concerns about the allocation and spending of the tourism promotion budget. “You won’t believe, there is a 60-crore budget for tourism promotion, but I don’t think more than 6 crores are being spent,” he said. “I request the Chief Minister to appoint an advisor to this sector to address these challenges and ensure tourism thrives in the valley, he said.” (JKNS)
