Spring in the air, but winter to stay for Kashmir tourism

MUMBAI: Chances of a revival in the number of tourists visiting Kashmir in the imminent spring season, when its magnificent tulip and flower gardens are in full bloom, remain bleak as the valley continues to suffer from limited internet access and partial shutdown.Tour operators, hoteliers and houseboat owners — who have already lost thousands of crores as tourist inflows fell to a 16-year low in 2019 — told ET that going by the bookings, occupancy rates would be less than 10% for March and April.“On average, hotels and houseboats should have been 70% booked by now,” said Mir Anwar, president of Travel Agents Society of Kashmir, a lobbying body of over 120 agents. “We have seen huge cancellations over the last few months and there is very little uptick now. Most tourists are unsure of staying in the valley with such limited access to the communication facilities.”Hamid Wangnoo, chairman of the Houseboat Owners Association, said they have been offering up to 50% discounts to woo visitors during the key season. “We have been attending roadshows across India and trying to recreate awareness on Kashmir, especially for tourists in the far east, given that European governments have issued advisories to their citizens against travelling to the valley,” he said. “Demand is still very bleak.”According to numbers compiled by the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the hospitality and transport sector alone lost business worth Rs 4,882 crore between August and December, its senior vice-president Nasir Hamid Khan told ET.Germany, the UK, the US and Canada, among others, issued advisories against travelling to Jammu & Kashmir to their citizens soon after the central government on August 5, 2019, virtually abrogated Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which gave autonomous status to the state in terms of its ability to formulate laws for its permanent residents, and announced bifurcation of Jammu & Kashmir into two separate Union Territories.“The advisories persist,” said Neeraj Balani, India managing director for International SOS, a medical and travel security risk services company. “We are also advising clients to defer travel plans to the Kashmir valley, including Srinagar.”“The biggest deterrent is that foreign travellers can’t avail of travel insurance whenever there is such an advisory from the government,” said Manoj Samuel, director, Riya Travel and Tours, one of India’s largest travel agencies.74251026 Arshad Sheikh, a Srinagar based tour operator, said numerous hotels have laid off staff and some are on the verge of shutting down.Close to 560,000 foreign and Indian tourists, including visitors to the famed Amarnath Temple, visited Kashmir in 2019, according to the state’s tourism department. The number was the lowest since 2003 and down by 33% from 2018 when about 830,000 people visited the valley. To be sure, tourist inflows to the valley have been falling since 2016.But numbers plummeted after August. During August-December, tourist inflows to Kashmir plunged 87% on-year to 43,059, according to government figures. Before that, in June-July alone, some 318,000 people had visited the valley.According to Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the total business lost by all the key sectors between August and December amounted to Rs 17,878 crore.

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/2uktBNX
via Latest News of India