J&K at its best, gets record tourists

Sarmad Hafeez, Secretary, Tourism, Jammu & Kashmir, shares how the upsurge of tourists in the Union Territory (UT) has been a blessing in disguise for the industry, which has revived like never before. The state has welcomed 1.5 crores tourists this year, making it one of the busiest tourism years since 1980s.

TT Bureau

Jammu & Kashmir saw a huge surge in tourism post-COVID, especially from the domestic market. Reacting on the same, Sarmad Hafeez, Secretary, Tourism, Jammu & Kashmir, said, “It’s been wonderful, and tourism has been doing very well. This year, we had the best tourism ever, even better than the pre-1989 days. We have already crossed about two million tourists in Kashmir Valley and we are touching about 1.5 crores in J&K. It’s fantastic because we are a tourist state, and everybody benefits from tourism. It’s a great economic activity as all the stakeholders are very happy and we are hoping that this continues.”

Challenges

Such a growth also brings with it challenges. “The UT administration, under the leadership of our Lieutenant Governor, we have taken several initiatives. Firstly, tourism in Kashmir started very early. We were one of the first places in the country which opened tourism. We started with vaccinating our entire travel trade.We organised several festivals and events. We were all over the country, and had roadshows in many places. We attended all the travel marts and had a huge advertisement campaign. Having said that, we have also improved a lot as far as infrastructure is concerned,” he mentioned.

Addressing the issue of shortage of hotel rooms in the UT, Hafeez said, “I know that the rooms have been a challenge because so many people have been coming. We have recently come out with a new homestay policy, which makes it easier for people to register their homestays. We have opened 75 new untapped destinations. Other tourist services in J&K have also improved.”

Safety aspect and perception

With many new destinations being promoted in Kashmir, there can be concerns about some places. Addressing the issue, Hafeez added, “As far as safety is concerned, it’s perhaps one of the safest places in the country to travel. Recently, the National Crime Bureau report has reported that there have been zero per cent crimes against tourists. Very few places in the country can boast of that. In fact, new areas have been opened. Recently Gurez Valley was voted as the number one offbeat destination in the country. Earlier, it was difficult to go there. There are several other places like the Bungus Valley, Lolab Valley and many trekking routes that have been opened. People are coming and enjoying.”

Promotions

As far as the promotions are concerned, he revealed, “We have had several roadshows across the country. We work closely with the travel trade and not in isolation as department of tourism. We have a huge social media campaign. We have presence at several airports around the country, and we have also embarked upon celebrating different occasions and festivals like spring festival and early almond blossom festival. In spring, i.e. March and April we have tulip festival at Asia’s largest tulip garden, where 1.5 million tulips grow. There are many summer festivals, winter carnivals and we have a houseboat festival. Such events help us convey a message outside that things are happening in the UT. We had a floating theatre in the Dal Lake. All this is paying dividends and a lot of tourists are visiting. I hope that this continues.”

Dealing with over-tourism

To tackle over-tourism, said Hafeez, “We have opened 75 new destinations in the 75th year of independence, not just to keep the tourists longer or enhance their experience, but also to disperse the tourists to larger areas so that not too many people are there in one place. It has helped a great deal.”