Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Sept 20: On the sidelines of the Annual General Meeting of the Travel Agents Association of Kashmir (TAAK) at the Gulmarg Convention Centre, a delegation of the Chamber of Tourism Trade and Industry Katra (CTTIK) submitted a detailed representation to the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, seeking urgent intervention for revival of the tourism sector.
The CTTIK delegation comprised president Raj Kumar Padha, treasurer Ramnik Sharma, executive member Neelam Singh and media head Arun Sharma. The representation was presented in the presence of Advisor to CM Nasir Aslam Wani, president TAAK Rouf Tramboo and Chairman J&K Hoteliers Club Mushtaq Chaya. Members of the Travel Agent Association of Katra, led by Chairman Ajay Kumar Sanmotra along with Sanjay Kumar and Ashok Kumar, also joined the delegation.
The memorandum highlighted that the recent Pahalgam terrorist attack and the Sindoor Operation had severely impacted tourism during the peak April-May season, leading to a collapse of business across hotels, transport, guides, shopkeepers and artisans. The situation was further aggravated by the devastating cloudbursts, flash floods and landslides in August, which claimed lives including Machail Mata pilgrims and Vaishno Devi devotees, besides destroying infrastructure.
CTTIK pointed out that these successive tragedies caused massive economic losses and pushed tourism stakeholders into crisis. The Chamber appealed to the Government to announce an immediate relief package along with a structured revival plan.
Proposed measures included organizing joint road-shows in major Indian cities to restore tourist confidence, conducting familiarization tours for stakeholders of both Jammu and Kashmir divisions, integrated marketing campaigns promoting leisure and pilgrimage tourism, and targeting high-volume markets such as Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat. The Chamber also sought constitution of separate regional tourism advisory boards to ensure coordination between industry and Government.
Emphasizing the State’s immense potential in pilgrimage, adventure, eco, wellness and inbound tourism, the delegation stressed that timely Government support would not only revive the sector but also restore livelihoods and strengthen the economy.
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