As means of communication by land, sea and air has radically changed in modern times, urge for mobility has received a boost. With economy of the country showing improvement and power of spending increased for ordinary Indian in comparisons to olden days, tourism should have received more than proper attention. It should really have become a significant source of income for our state. But we don’t think this is the ground reality. As such it is in the fitness of things that the entire gamut of tourism in our state is brought under focus for constructive reformation. This is a sector which must be kept updated if we really mean to be on the tourist map of the world or at least of Asia.
Kashmir tourism has to be seen in historical perspective but at the same time the changing conditions have also to be kept in mind. We need pragmatic approach to the subject. Making Kashmir known to the world as a unique tourist spot is factually something contributed by the British rule over India. In the days of the Raj, Britons, the masters of this land, used to pay visits and come to Kashmir to enjoy its natural beauty of pristine purity. They received all possible facilities and comforts whether they came as official tourists or private tourists. This laid the foundation of specific British tourist culture in Kashmir. This is manifested in queer names of the houseboats that you still can notice in Dal Lake. Yachting, regatta, hiking, golf, cricket, mountaineering, gardening, skiing and other fabulous sports are all the gift of the British. Obviously when India became free and the visits of ordinary Britons to Kashmir as tourists dwindled considerably, these sports and tourist entertaining events could not be maintained in their pristine purity. As such, the Tourism Department of the State Government needed to revamp the entire tourist industry in letter and in spirit. It could not remain British-specific and had to be re-developed along international criterion. Did that happen or not is the crux of the problem when we deal with it along pragmatic analysis.
The first thing that should have been done in this context was to extend the umbrella of tourism to other parts and regions of the State and not to keep it confined only to the valley. Some steps were taken in the case of Ladakh and Ladakh did come on the international map of tourism though restrictions of travel deep in Ladakh hampered the development of Ladakh tourism to some extent. Now that the Government has almost lifted the ban on tourism deep inside Ladakh, the region is steadily regaining in the sector of tourism. But about Jammu, one can say with fair amount of certainty that despite loud claims made in the Legislative Assembly and outside, tourist industry has not flourished in Jammu region in a way in which it could have. This is despite the fact that there are numerous tourist spots in Jammu region especially in Bhaderwah-Chamba sector, Kishtwar heights, Poonch-Rajouri sector and more significantly the entire belt of the Mughal Road. True, of late some attention has been paid to the region but it is only in very small and unimaginative manner. J&K is a hilly state and, therefore, tourism in this state is, by and large, surface-oriented tourism. We have to depend on nature, topography and historical monuments as the mainstay of State’s tourist industry.
The recent report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Tourism, Transport and Culture notes that the total plan allocation for the Ministry of Tourism during the 11th Plan ending 2012 was Rs. 4053 crore. J&K with vast tourist potential was allocated highest number of projects viz. 145, with the cost of 391.17 crore. But only 90 projects are reported to have been undertaken and the remaining are left unattended. The Committee has expressed its displeasure on very casual approach of Tourism Department in executing the sanctioned projects and some of the projects remain totally neglected. For example, no funds were allocated to the prestigious Mubarak Mandi Heritage Project in Jammu for last three years. This is despite the loud claims of the authorities at the Tourist Department that this prestigious heritage is receiving full attention. In the same vein one can imagine how casually the department is dealing with other tourist spots in Jammu region. Even in the case of Kashmir, a large number of new tourist spots already identified remain unaddressed. The Parliamentary Committee report does not give a satisfactory picture of the functioning of the Department of Tourism. In particular, it has passed strictures on the Union Ministry of Tourism for resorting to favouritism in making postings of tourist officers to various tourist branches abroad. Some of those branches are headless and others are run by inexperienced in-charge functionaries which does not help mobilising campaign for attracting foreign tourists to India. The State Government should evince keen interest in the report and implement the recommendations. State tourist industry needs to be given very special treatment.
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