Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, June 29: Secretary Tourism Department, M. H. Malik, called for making concerted efforts to offset negative perceptions about Kashmir to boost tourism, adding that the sector holds key in promotion of people-to-people contact.
In his maiden meeting with travel agents and hoteliers at SKICC, the Secretary said the department is one of the main contributors to the State’s economy and provides employment to lakhs of the people.
He said the Tourism Department would make all out efforts to promote tourism sector so that more employment is generated.
Director Tourism Kashmir Mahmood A. Shah, Deputy Director Tourism (Publicity) Peerzada Zahoor, besides heads of the Travel and Hotel Associations attended the meeting.
During the meeting, the Secretary Tourism also highlighted importance of promoting farm tourism.
He said 2017 has already been announced by the Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti as Apple Year and the department would promote the apple orchards of the Valley as tourism products.
“We will have special apple orchards enroute famous tourist resorts of Gulmarg and Pahalgam so that tourists can visit these orchards,” said Malik.
During the interaction, the travel trade fraternity raised issues like rate fixation of the taxis at tourist places, doing away with unnecessarily stopping of tourist vehicles at many places and negative campaign by some media organizations.
They also demanded promotion of adventure tourism, augmenting tourism related infrastructure, holding road shows at national and international markets, providing NOCs for the renovation and repair works of hotels and houseboats, promoting MICE, film and golf tourism, organizing FAM tour for travel agents and media persons and deployment of adequate tourist police at tourist resorts.
The Secretary Tourism gave a patient hearing to them and assured that all of their issues and concerns would be looked into for their redressal.
Director Tourism Kashmir informed the Secretary that the department has already conducted FAM tour for media persons from various States and the department is also attending the travel trade fairs in Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore for tourism promotion.
The heads and the representatives from TASK, TAAK, KHARA, KHAROF, ATOK, AKTO, UTTA, PHAROA, JKTA, TTIG, PILTOF, KHBOA, IATO-JK, TAAI-JK, DTOAK, J&KHC, CII -Kashmir Chapter and NTTA were also present in the meeting.
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