Adil Lateef
SRINAGAR, Aug 10: Despite hard efforts by Government and prime stakeholders to reverse the negative impact of continued cycle of violence, the tourism sector in Kashmir is in deep crisis.
The crisis in the industry has been admitted by both its stakeholders as well as officials of State’s Tourism Department. They said it is due to ‘negligible arrival’ of foreign and domestic tourists into the Valley. Leading hoteliers of Kashmir, who spoke to Excelsior, said that the hotel occupancy percentage is “below five” and “many hotels have even locked their rooms and shelved off staff in absence of tourists”.
The situation is so grim that a well-known luxury hotel in Srinagar has locked its 70 rooms as there are no tourist arrivals. “The situation is very bad and the future is bleak. In 2009, the rush of tourist was so much high that we had no place left and this year, our hotels are empty and we are watching helplessly,” said Mushtaq Ahmad Chaya, who is chairman of Mushtaq Group of Hotels.
The leading hotelier of Kashmir said that ideally, the tourist season in Kashmir spans over 120 days which is from March 15 to August 15. “Now, look at this time of the year. How has been the situation and then how it was blown out of proportion by the television media; the results are in front of us and today no tourist is interested in coming to Kashmir despite road shows and promotional events,” he said.
Recently, Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation (JKTDC) announced that it will provide 50 percent rebate for booking a room to a full tour package, to help a tourist in customizing the tour to Valley at half the original price to provide needed flip to the tourism sector. “But, this offer has even failed to woo tourists to Kashmir. The accommodations are lying vacant,” said another hotelier based in Srinagar.
In another attempt to woo tourists to Kashmir, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti , who also holds the portfolio of Tourism Department, visited several States of the country along with industry’s stakeholders and held meetings with tour operators, agents, and film stars. “We did extensive marketing. Everything concluded on a positive note and we were assured that the tourists will visit Valley but to our utter shock no one came,” said a hotelier, who accompanied the CM.
However, despite hard efforts, the tourists continued to evade Kashmir and preferred other destinations including Ladakh. “We do admit that the situation was and is bad in Kashmir but we feel some invisible hand is preventing tourists from coming to Kashmir. Even foreigners are not coming in good numbers. We have not seen this situation even in ’90s when militancy was at its peak,” said Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) president Mushtaq Wani. He said the occupancy in hotels and houseboats is “very very low” and the people associated with the tourism are in distress.
While people associated with handicrafts, dry fruit, houseboats, tour and travel, hotels and restaurants are directly dependent on tourism for their livelihood but there are indirect dependents as well that include vegetable, mutton, and milk sellers. Every day, during peak tourist seasons, the mutton, vegetable, and milk are purchased by hoteliers and restaurant owners but this market too has fallen flat.
Director Tourism Kashmir, Mehmood Shah, echoed the views of tourism players about the arrival of tourists in the Valley. “It is low,” he told Excelsior and when asked about the reasons, Shah said: “The present situation in the Valley and the negative perception created by media. They are showing encounters and other things live on television which deters people from coming here.”
When asked about the efforts that the Tourism Department is making to woo tourists, the Director said that they are organizing several festivals and shows. “Our Gurez festival concluded recently. We are organizing more such festivals and events. We are trying our best,” he said. The Central Government, under the Prime Minister’s Development Package, has sanctioned Rs 2,000 crore for the tourism sector in Jammu and Kashmir.
Recently, a Central team headed by Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi held meetings with officials of the J&K Tourism Department. But the tourism stakeholders argued that the package is meant for building tourism infrastructure “but our need right now is the arrival of tourists”. “How will infrastructure help us when no one is ready to come?”, they asked.
Not only State Government is pushing hard for revival of tourism sector in Kashmir which was severely affected due to public protests after the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani last year in July but separatist leaders including hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani also appealed tourists in winters to come to Kashmir without any scare and guaranteed them of safety. Due to 2016 unrest, the tourism sector suffered losses worth Rs 3000 crore.
But so far there is no positive outcome and the tourism industry continues to face a crisis. “This is worst ever crisis,” Chaya asserted.
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