Jammu & Kashmir (J&K)hasbeen put under national tourism spotlight with a three-day (April 11-13) tourism promotion event that kick started at Srinagar yesterday.The event is aimed at showcasing the myriad tourism products of the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and promote tourism to Jammu & Kashmir as the destination for leisure, Adventure, Eco, Wedding, films and MICE Tourism.
Several interesting programmes like exhibition and B2B sessions, technical tours, cultural programme, Golf tournament as well as panel discussions of tourism stakeholders and experts aimed at taking tourism in Kashmir to greater heights, were part of the three-day event.
Titled ‘Tapping the Potential of Kashmir: Another Day in Paradise’, the event was organised by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, in association with the Tourism Department of Jammu & Kashmir, Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industries (FICCI) and the Indian Golf Tourism Association (IGTA). The event was inaugurated by Manoj Sinha, Lt. Governor of the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and Prahlad Singh Patel, Union Minister of State for Tourism & Culture.
In his virtual address, Prahlad Singh Patel said that this event is a new endeavour by Tourism Ministry and other stakeholders to promote tourism in J&K. The Minister said that J&K has witnessed five time hike in tourist arrivals in January 2021 in comparison to January 2020. Patel added that after the abolition of Section 370 and recovering from all the adverse conditions, tourists have started visiting J&K. He Patel further added that J&K has archaeological, historical and natural beauty and needs to be promoted with these type of events as they play important role by throwing up new ideas for creating better infrastructure.
Also speaking virtually, Sinha said that J&K has a great tourism potential and the administration will come up with a new film policy very soon, which will bring back the golden era of film shootings to the region. He further said that keeping in mind health and other aspects of people involved in view of the pandemic, many measures have been taken to ensure safety of visiting tourists. While further adding that Kashmir as a destination for weddings, film tourism, MICE etc. is looked forward to as it offers immense possibilities, he hoped that the deliberations at the event will go a long way in showing the way forward.
He also emphasized that for the transformation of the tourism sector, five pillars will remain the focus which include sustainable development for the tourism industry, strengthening the hospitality sector, Human resource development, development of golf and popularisation of food.
Speaking at the event, Secretary Ministry of Tourism, Arvind Singh said that the ‘Paradise on Earth’ is abundantly blessed with tourism potential. He further added that despite the pandemic signs of recovery have been witnessed. Srinagar has witnessed record tourist visits since December 2020 and as per information all the hotels are completely booked till June 2021. This is a very encouraging news. I am happy for this opportunity to revive tourism in the UT and partner with the stakeholders to develop tourism here and thereby also providing with employment opportunities to the youth in the state.
Singh added that the Ministry under Swadesh Darshan and PRASHAD has sanctioned projects for Rs.562.79 crore for development of tourism infrastructure in the UT. Most of these projects are at a completion stage and once completed will fulfill the vision of ministry of providing enhanced experience to visitors at tourist destinations. The laser show at Dal Lake is one of such initiative of Ministry among other initiatives taken for enhancing the tourist experience in Kashmir.
Singh further said that the connectivity is another focus area and the Ministry is working tirelessly with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and Ministry of Civil Aviation. Recently the direct flights have also started from Bengaluru and Ahmedabad to the valley. Night flights to Srinagar have also started now.
Advisor to Lt. Governor of J&K, Bashir Ahmad Khan said that he is very confident that the event is going to be very fruitful and provide road map to achieving new heights in tourism. Government of Jammu & Kashmir has finalised list of new destinations and is working to create necessary infrastructure to make these destinations popular.
