Srinagar, July 9 (JKNS): Advisor to the Chief Minister, Nasir Aslam Wani, on Thursday said Jammu and Kashmir must now shift its focus from merely promoting tourism to ensuring its long-term sustainability, stressing that unregulated growth could harm the Valley’s destinations and affect future tourist inflow.
Speaking at the Conclave on Sustainable Tourism at SKICC Srinagar, as per news agency JKNS, Advisor Wani said, the government’s tourism promotion efforts have yielded encouraging results in terms of visitor arrivals, but the increase in tourist numbers has also brought greater responsibility.
“We have achieved remarkable success in tourism promotion, but now we must preserve our destinations. If we fail to protect them, we risk losing both our identity and the tourist footfall,” he said.
The Advisor called for the immediate preparation and implementation of realistic master plans for tourist destinations, saying delays in planning have resulted in unregulated structures and infrastructure gaps.
He said new tourism destinations should be developed instead of concentrating tourists only in traditional hotspots.
“We should identify and develop greenfield destinations with proper road connectivity and infrastructure so that tourist flow is distributed across Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
Wani stressed that tourism infrastructure should include adequate parking facilities, food courts, public amenities and designated spaces for local service providers, including pony owners, guides and vendors.
He also highlighted the need for proper waste management systems, warning that increasing tourist arrivals have significantly raised the volume of garbage at major destinations.
“The volume of garbage has become enormous. Scientific waste disposal systems are essential if we want to preserve our tourism assets,” he said.
Calling for better urban planning, Wani said buildings in tourist areas should follow a uniform architectural pattern in harmony with the local environment.
He also advocated regulating the carrying capacity of tourist destinations and improving traffic management to prevent congestion.
Referring to the growing influx of private vehicles from outside Jammu and Kashmir, Wani suggested introducing user charges to regulate traffic while generating additional revenue.
“The number of outside vehicles has increased significantly. It is time to regulate this through user charges so that congestion is reduced and revenue is generated for better infrastructure,” he said.
The Advisor also emphasised the need for capacity-building programmes for hotel staff, taxi drivers, pony owners and other stakeholders to revive Kashmir’s traditional hospitality.
“Our hospitality has always been our biggest strength. We need to train everyone associated with tourism so that every visitor leaves with a memorable experience and returns again,” he said.
Expressing hope for the future, Wani said the collective goal should be to make Jammu and Kashmir the cleanest and most sustainable tourist destination in the country. (JKNS)
