Emergence of our State as a tourist destination began with the visits of the British colonial rulers after they had established their sway over the country. With the signing of the Treaty of Amritsar in 1846, the geographical entity henceforth to be known as the State of Jammu and Kashmir came into focus. The first significant development in the State soon after it emerged as the Dogra Kingdom in Northern India was the perception of the British rulers as strategic northern region to serve them a bulwark, first against the Tsarist expansion southward and later on the Soviet strategy of ideological thrust southward. British Indian authorities were prompted to bring the State under close surveillance and maintain a semblance of presence there.
This was the beginning of the British using Kashmir as a summer resort or a tourist destination. Thus was laid the foundation of tourism in the State and the destinations then identified like Gulmarg, Tangmarg, Pahalgam etc. gradually became world famous tourist destinations. Alongwith that developed the tourist culture in Kashmir like Houseboats, shikaras, regatta, Kashmir handicraft, pony rides, hiking and mountaineering and above all large number of works on Kashmir history, geography, topography, architecture etc.
After freedom, footfall of European tourists was gradually reduced whereas the number of tourists from within the country steadily increased. Tourist activities multiplied and the private sector began playing a conspicuous role in the promotion of tourism in the State. Along with that tourism prospects in other two regions, namely Jammu and Ladakh also brightened. Local people demanded development of tourist destinations and budgetary allocations began to be made for identification of new tourist destinations in these two regions also. However, in the process, it was found that the number of pilgrims visiting holy places in both of these two regions was on an increase. Ladakh is a mosaic of culture and tradition. When it was thrown open to tourists, it suddenly sprang into prominence as the most wonderful roof of the world. Jammu had its own share of tourism in the shape of pilgrims visiting Mata Vaishno Devi shrine and other places of religious significance. This brought to fore the new dimension of State tourism now called “Pilgrimage tourism.” Now it has achieved significance and created urge among the people in other regions of the State to explore tourist destinations. Government has given tremendous media hype to tourist pilgrimage and in that name has made big allocations in the annual budget. However, despite the Union Government also contributing its share in money and logistics, the idea of establishing Tourist Reception Centres (TRCs) at new and rather less known spots in different parts of the State is a good one to give boost to these places. But the question is whether the infrastructure needed for developing TRCs is in place. The example of Sarthaldevi TRC for pilgrimage tourism is a classical example of unimaginative planning. Approved by the Union Ministry of Tourism at a cost of rupees 178.94 lakh in 2010-11, the destination about 26 miles away from Kishtwar town has not so far got a pucca road for vehicular traffic nor has land acquisition for the destination been finalized. About 143 lakh rupees have already been released to the Kishtwar Development Authority under Central Road Fund scheme. This shows that funding is not the bottleneck in developing the pilgrimage tourist spots. It is the lethargy and incompetence of the administration that is the main reason. The second TRC in Kishtwar was approved on the insistence of the local MLA and funds were also released. The necessity was felt owing to great rush of the pilgrims and accommodation was needed. That also remains incomplete. The question is that why should there be so much of propaganda of expanding pilgrim tourism when on the ground nothing substantial is achieved. The 20 kilometer Hasti-Sarthaldevi road up to village Agral was approved under Centre Road Fund (CRF) several years back at a cost of Rs 1504 lakh but despite huge expenditure the condition of road remains pitiable. The issue at hand is that the department of tourism does not appear serious in developing the TRCs that have been identified by district authorities. If equitable and balanced Development of Tourism in all the three regions is to be pursued in right earnest, then the Tourism Department shall have to change its mindset and give due importance of development of TRCs in various districts of the State. Pilgrimage tourism has great potential because we have fairly large sprinkling of shrines and religious places in the State to which devoted people often pay visits. If roads, infrastructure and other facilities are provided, these can develop into commercially viable destinations. This requires vision and enterprise. It also contributes immensely to the development of the infrastructure like roads, bridges, culverts, restaurants, hotels, shopping complexes. This is what we mean by saying that there is the need of changing the mindset about tourism.
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