It’s raining discounts, snow festivals for tourists

M Aamir Khan

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, December 21

The government is planning to hold a series of festivals, besides offering 30 per cent discount to tourists around the New Year time and during the winter months to revive the tourism sector.

Tourist footfall took a hit after the September floods and the stakeholders have started taking quite a few initiatives to put the sector back on track.

Joint Director, Tourism Department, Tasaduq Hussain said they were hosting a festival titled ‘Jashn-e-Chillai Kalaan’ from December 29, besides a New Year gala on the night of December 31 at the ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir.

While the Tourism Department and private players have started holding events outside the state to dispel the notion that Kashmir was not safe to travel after floods, Hussain said more snow festivals were in the offing in January.

“We will hold events throughout January depending on the amount of snowfall received. We will also send invitation cards to all tourists on arrival,” he said.

Managing Director, J&K Tourism Development Corporation (JKTDC), Shamim Ahmad Wani said hotels have been already booked for the winter months.

He said and it was a good sign for the sector and expressed hope that the sector would be fully revived from the coming spring season. Wani said the visitors would be getting 30 per cent discount at the JKTDC-run hotels and huts.

Meanwhile, the private stakeholders are saying that the government should more proactively promote the Kashmir tourism.

We have already met Chief Secretary Iqbal Khanday in this regard and urged the government to ensure vigorous publicity campaign for the promotion of tourism, said Mushtaq Chaya, chairman of the J&K Hoteliers’ Club.

Chaya said private players too were holding series of road shows, travel trade marts and press meets at various destinations across India to spread the message loud and clear that ‘Kashmir is as normal and pristine as it was before floods’.

Pertinently, the promotion of tourism became a poll issue during the ongoing Assembly polls. While the BJP’s vision document promised to develop tourism on the lines of Switzerland, the Congress has promised special attention to pilgrim tourism, winter sports, golf and angling, heritage and border tourism.

Similarly, the PDP has promised to make Jammu and Kashmir a herbal tourist destination by building herb gardens across the state while the National Conference has promised development of new tourist spots.