Ladakh has emerged as the most preferred tourist destination this year in Jammu and Kashmir, prompting the state tourism department to organise a four-day tourism festival there. The purpose of the festival was to showcase the less explored places in Ladakh to tourists, especially the foreign tourists.
“The tourists have started visiting places other than Leh and the Pangong Lake. Many tourists visited Zanskar, Turtuk and other far off places and it is good that Ladakh is emerging as a major tourist destination,” said Mehmood Ahmad Shah, director, Tourism Kashmir.
Reports said that in September, which normally witnesses less footfall, saw an unprecedented tourist rush. Lots of new infrastructure is coming up in Ladakh and the government has introduced a major incentive scheme for the tourist industry in this region, especially for the construction of big hotels, guest houses and paying guest houses.
The unrest in Kashmir has proved to be a boon in disguise for tourism in the Ladakh region. Most of the tourists during the current season arrived either by air or by surface via Manali in Himachal Pradesh. According to the figures available with the tourism officials, over 255,000 tourists including over 50,000 foreign tourists have registered till September end for visiting Ladakh. They feel that till the time the Zojila Pass closes and the Manali road closes, Ladakh will see a heavy tourist rush.
Visitors have flocked to even lesser known Kargil and Zanskar this year. Thousands of tourists have visited many far off places in Kargil and Zanskar. Some foreign groups have gone to the hills for weeks with local guides, tourist officials of Kargil and Zanskar told this reporter.
Meanwhile, the revival of tourism in Kashmir seems unlikely this year. Although Bollywood star Alia Bhat, during her recent shoot in Kashmir, tried to project the valley as an ideal destination for film-makers and tourists, there seems to be very little impact. Alia Bhat uploaded a lot of pictures of Kashmir on Instagram and talked about her shooting schedule in the valley with her director Meghna Gulzar for the film Raazi. In this film, Alia is playing the role of a Kashmiri girl who marries a Pakistani officer. “There seems to be no end to our miseries, as no amount of promotion or push has succeeded to bring tourists back to Kashmir,” said Sheikh Nisar Ahmad, a local tour and travel agent.