SHAKEELA ANDRABI
SRINAGAR: Kashmir hospitality sector is recovering from loses after 14-year long wait, as a record-breaking 20.5 lakh tourists, including 3.65 lakh Amarnath Yatris visited Kashmir in first eight months of 2022.
After three decades, Kashmir is attracting hordes of tourists, and as per experts, the golden era of Kashmir tourism, when it was a popular destination for visitors, has returned back. A total of 16.84 lakh tourists, including foreign tourists visited Kashmir till August ending, said Tourism Department official, adding that about 10,500 among 16.84 lakh tourists were foreigners, while 3.65 lakh were Amarnath Yatris. He further told that 2 million tourists represent an all-time high for Kashmir and predicted future growth. The Valley’s tourist sites such as Pahalgam, Gulmarg, and Sonamarg as well as all hotels and guesthouses in Srinagar experienced 100 per cent occupancy, while occupancy rate for house-boats was between 70 and 80 percent.
Post-COVID, the sector has recovered brilliantly in recent months with up to 100 flights landing per day at Srinagar’s airport. Srinagar International Airport recorded highest flight operations of over 3400, so far in July this year, officials said. Director, Airports Authority of India, Srinagar, Kuldeep Singh said, “Night flights are operating at airport and last flight departs between 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM. There is a good response this season and we hope that it will continue,” he said. As per officials, the new integrated terminal building for Srinagar Airport is also in advanced stage and will be interlinked with the new building to provide a seamless experience. “It is encouraging news for the tourism sector industry. After horticulture, it provides a large number of job opportunities in J&K. We are confident that the government will continue to promote Kashmir tourism to further increase the number of visitors to Kashmir. As tourism industry has sustained significant losses over last few years, the players need support and government needs to play a bigger part,” a hotel owner said, adding that arrivals picked up pace from October 2021 and have not stopped. Earlier this year, LG Manoj Sinha launched J&K Tourist Village Network under the Mission Youth, aimed at transforming 75 villages of UT known for historical, picturesque beauty, and cultural significance into tourist villages.
