National Winter Games in Gulmarg from January 1

Tribune News Service

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Srinagar, December 20

The famed meadow resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir will host the National Winter Games, which will begin on January 1, officials said here.

Tourism Secretary Farooq Ahmad Shah, while chairing a meeting here, announced that the National Winter Games Federation had awarded this year’s games to Gulmarg.

Shah said the games would give a boost to promoting Jammu and Kashmir as a winter destination. Gulmarg resort, 50 km from the summer capital, is a famed skiing destination and one of the prized tourist spots in the region.

The participants from different states will arrive here on December 31, take part in games from January 1 to 4 and depart on January 5.

“The mega event will be jointly organised by Jammu and Kashmir Tourism, Jammu and Kashmir Winter Games Association and Indian Association of Skiing and Mountaineering,” Shah said. The Tourism Secretary said the games were organised in Kashmir earlier in 1998, 2004 and 2008.

“Our state as a whole has the potential to become an international attraction for such events, specifically for winter games, because we have immense potential which has to be utilised in places like Gulmarg, Patnitop, Pahalgam and Sonamarg,” Shah said.