Will give full support to tourism in Kashmir, says travel agents body

The Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) on Saturday assured its full support to tourism in Kashmir, saying it is important for the tour and travel body to stand by the Valley’s tourism industry.

TAFI national president Ajay Prakash said the travel body is on a visit to the Valley to reassure the people of the country that Kashmir is open and safe. “We have 12 chapters in India, all chapter chairmen and committees are here. The aim is to give full support to tourism which is Kashmir’s lifeline because there is no place comparable to this,” he told a press conference here.

Prakash said it is important for them to stand by Kashmir’s tourism industry. “The incident (Pahalgam attack) has left people scared, but today we are here to give a strong message. Through our chapters, clients and agents across India, we will spread the word that Kashmir is open, ready to welcome you (visitors) and is safe and beautiful,” said Prakash.

Prakash said the tour and travel body is in talks with the airlines and hotels to keep the rates reasonable. “Kashmir was booming till some days ago and to get back to that level, support is needed from airlines, hoteliers and tour and travel operators across the country,” said Prakash.

“We will talk to people, do presentations in our chapters about what we saw here. Hopefully, in some months Kashmir will be back to where it was,” he said.

The TAFI national president said it is “foolish” of someone to say ‘boycott Kashmir’. “We have come here to say that we stand with Kashmir, we stand with our brothers in Kashmir and we will support you to the extent that we can. Things will be back to better than they were,” he added.