‘Gar firdaus bar-rue zamin ast, hami asto, hamin asto, hamin ast’ – Amir Khusro
With its breathtaking landscapes, lush green meadows, apple orchards and saffron fields, Kashmir has rightfully been called ‘Paradise on Earth’. Earlier a mystery to many, with the process of political and social inclusion of Kashmir in the mainstream, the tourism sector here is growing at a fast rate. If we want Kashmir to progress, its best bet is tourism. With various exciting tourist destinations, Kashmir has a lot to offer. Kashmir has various renowned tourist destinations namely like Satbaran Caves, Bungus Valley, Sadhna Top, Sharda Temple/ Guruswara, Drangyari and many more which are being developed to attract the influx of tourists. For doing so, a lot of factors have to be looked after and challenges met. Tourism is extremely important for Kashmiris. Being a labour intensive industry, there is a lot of scope of employment. It is a multi-faceted industry, therefore provides different types of businesses and jobs like hotel managers, receptionists, guides, tour operators, travel agents, photographers and has a direct impact on restaurants, handicraft industry, travel and adventure set ups.
Earlier, due to the dynamics that existed here due to Article 370 and security situation, private investment was a farfetched idea. This led to a closed economy where apart from the few employment opportunities provided by the government, there were few means of livelihood for the population. The only other sources of income included agriculture, dairy farming and handicrafts. Large part of the population being below poverty line and literacy rate in the region apart from major city like Srinagar being low, to spark the process of development and provide the locals with a means of livelihood tourism becomes all the more important. With the Abrogation of article 370, a new era has begun for Kashmir. With the constant efforts of the government and the security forces, the network of major terrorist organizations has been uprooted. With minimal number of clashes between the security forces and terrorists and other incidents in the past two years, positive vibes have been created for average Indian citizens to put Kashmir on their bucket list for travel and adventure destination. This is an important factor in improving the perception of Kashmir and growth and development of the UT.
The lack of quality accommodation and other basic amenities are being given relook. Taking a cue from other mountain states like Uttarakhand & Himachal Pradesh, the infrastructure with respect to the number of hotels / eateries, online taxi booking system, adventure activities like ‘bungee’ jumping, rock climbing, Para-gliding and white water rafting are now being explored in Kashmir as well. However, one must say there is a vast scope for improvement in these areas in most destinations. Efforts are being made to improve tourism infrastructure in Kashmir, including the development of new tourist circuits and the expansion of existing tourism infrastructure. However, much more needs to be done to fully realize the potential of the region as a tourist destination. This will require sustained investment and a commitment to improving the security situation in the region. Participation of the local population for entrepreneurship to create the environment in their villages will boost this process.
