Busy vacationer season in Kashmir Valley, ‘good bookings after many years’

Written by Divya A
| Gulmarg, New Delhi, Srinagar |
April 10, 2021 5:12:47 am
After struggling a setback over the previous couple of years following the killing of Hizbul militant Burhan Wani in 2016, the Centre’s choices on August 5, 2019, and the Covid-induced lockdown final 12 months, the tourism sector within the Valley has been witnessing a busy vacationer season since heavy snow in January — with the blooming of tulips in spring signalling the onset of peak season.
“We have seen such good bookings after many years. Suddenly when it snowed on December 15, Kashmir was among the first tourism destinations to open, so that helped not just the economy but also enhanced people to people contact. Most of the big hotels have clocked 70 per cent bookings till June even as increasing Covid numbers are expected to give little setback since a lot of tourists this year were coming in from Maharashtra,” stated Mushtaq Ahmad Chaya, chairman of J&Okay Hoteliers Association and mentor of the Kashmir chapter of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
In the final weekend of March, the Boulevard Road in Srinagar alongside the Dal Lake was bustling with individuals, and as Holi and Shab-e-Baraat coincided, shikaras had a subject day — charging upto Rs 1,200 for an hour’s experience as an alternative of the same old Rs 100. The Tulip backyard was thrown open to the general public final Thursday, and has recorded as many as 50,000 guests on a single day.
Most inns in Srinagar, Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Sonmarg are absolutely booked until the top of June, as per a consultant of the J&Okay Hotel and Restaurant Association.
Ahsan Chisti, Deputy Director of the Tourism Department, said, “Everyday during January and February, more than a thousand tourists have landed into Srinagar. The last two to three months have given us hope.”
Zaffar Rayan Baba, who operates a journey firm in Srinagar, claimed “the last time we saw such activity and such heavy bookings was in 2011-12”.
While ski slopes all over the world have suffered due to the pandemic, Gulmarg is having one among its busiest seasons ever. By mid-March, it had registered over 1.5 lakh individuals, approach above another season for not less than three a long time. Since worldwide guests are nonetheless a distant dream, it’s the home travellers who would have in any other case gone snowboarding in Europe, or holidaying in Dubai or Thailand, stated Baba, including that with 40 inns (the place demand has led to skyrocketing leases), Gulmarg helps livelihood for as many as 20,000 native residents.

It can be the necessary Covid testing at airports and railway stations that’s giving psychological reassurance to households and teams travelling collectively.
Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel knowledgeable Rajya Sabha lately that the vacationer influx in Jammu and Kashmir went up from over 3,700 individuals in January 2020 to 19,000 individuals in January 2021. He additionally stated 26 movies had been presently being shot within the Union Territory.

Last week, whereas sharing footage of the tulip backyard on the foothills of the Zabarwan Mountains, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, “Whenever you get the opportunity, do visit Jammu and Kashmir and witness the scenic Tulip festival. In addition to the tulips, you will experience the warm hospitality of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.”
“Peace has returned to Kashmir after so many decades, it’s time we must cash in on this,” Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha stated lately, including, “We have increased the budgetary allocation for the tourism sector, and the government is also working on developing other tourism destinations.”