In a written reply in Parliament, the Centre has said that there has been a huge decline in tourism since 5 August 2019.
Srinagar: Even after heavy spells of snow in Kashmir valley, tourist traffic is not picking up and hoteliers are waiting eagerly for tourists.
“In the past 18 months, we have not repaid our loans and we are desperate now to even feed our families,” said Muhammad Yousuf a hotelier in Srinagar, who along with other stakeholders of tourism in Kashmir, are waiting for the tourist season to pick up.
In the latest session of Parliament, the government in a written reply said that there has been a huge decline in tourism since 5 August 2019, and said that efforts of the government were on to revive this industry in Jammu and Kashmir.
In this direction, recently, a 24-member delegation of Bollywood came to Kashmir and visited many scenic spots along with Dal Lake and Gulmarg to see if they select these places for the shooting schedules for their future films.
Nitin Ahuja, CEO of Producers’ Guild, told the media here that Kashmir has a huge scope for film tourism. Principal Secretary to Lieutenant Governor Niteshwar Kumar in a video conference assured the Bollywood delegation that the administration will provide them all the facilities if they come with their films to shoot here. On the sidelines of a briefing, one of the prominent faces of the Bollywood delegation told this reporter that if Kashmir wants a permanent place on the map of film tourism, the government will have to upgrade infrastructure not only in Srinagar city, but also places like Gulmarg and Pahalgam. “Kashmir has no quality infrastructure and the government needs to focus on this,” she said.
Hoteliers and houseboat owners were waiting for a financial package in the latest budget, but it did not come. “The government is giving shikara wallas and other such people Rs 1000 per month as compensation for the pandemic period of three months. Will it feed their families?” asked Faheem Ahmad, who along with his father, is dependent upon shikara roving on Dal water to feed their families.
Recently, a parliamentary panel also scame to Srinagar and met all the stakeholders, including those associations connected with the tourism sector.
The parliamentary panel has recommended to the government after coming to Kashmir that they should try to remove “negative publicity” in the press and use social media to highlight the positive image of Kashmir.
The panel in its recommendation has said, “The committee recommends that the state government, Ministry of Tourism and the various other stakeholders, must endeavour to remove the negative publicity in the press by finding innovative means to engage with the world at large via social media. In this age of YouTube and social platforms like Instagram and Snapchat, social media influencers may be engaged to promote a more positive image of the state.”
As the spring season is going to start in Kashmir valley from March, thousands of families connected with the tourist trade are desperately waiting for tourist arrivals here. Tourism has faced a new low since 4 August 2019, when the J&K the government came out with an official order asking tourists, Amarnath yatris to leave Srinagar within 24 hours, followed by curfew and clampdown.
According to the government figures presented in Parliament, only 84,000 tourists visited Jammu and Kashmir in the past 18 months, which speaks volumes about the dwindling footfall of tourists here.
noor