Snow fest from tomorrow

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, January 10

A snow festival is being held at Gulmarg in north Kashmir from Friday.

A Tourism Department official said the three-day carnival would be held from January 12 to 14 at the snow-covered resort with an aim to attract more tourists to the Kashmir valley.

“We have lined up a series of events, including cultural programmes and adventure sports, during the festival so that the tourists enjoy their stay at the resort. We are looking forward to receiving a good number of tourists during the carnival,” the official said.

The tourism sector had been affected after the killing of Hizb commander Burhan Wani on July 8, 2016, and arrivals had remained on the lower side last year also. However, Gulmarg hotels saw good bookings for the New Year and the stakeholders are hopeful that the Valley will continue to attract tourists in the winter months.

The Tourism Department had held special events on Christmas at Gulmarg and also on the New Year at south Kashmir resort of Pahalgam to boost footfall.

The department had also upped its promotional campaign across the country to dispel the notion that the Valley was unsafe for the tourists.