Kashmir Tourism in Trouble
Media blowing things out of proportion; Negative reportage fuels massive cancellations: Stakeholders
The Valley-based tourism players Wednesday said that “irresponsible” reportage on flood threat by some Delhi-based electronic channels has put the Kashmir tourism sector into depression resulting in massive cancellations.
The stakeholders said that they had great hopes about tourism picking up this year, “but our hopes have been dashed by the irresponsible and wrong reportage by some outside media houses who are exaggerating the facts relating to flood threat in Kashmir.”
Talking to us, Chairman Jammu and Kashmir Hoteliers’ Club, Mushtaq Ahmad Chaya, said that some vested interests for their petty gains were doing a lot of harm to the Kashmir tourism sector. “National media is exaggerating the flood scare in Kashmir. Rains in March and April are normal but they are projecting it as if devastating floods are awaiting or have hit Kashmir which is far from truth,” Chaya said.
He said that tourism traders were witnessing massive cancellations in bookings and almost all the bookings till April 20 have been cancelled.
Chaya said: “It is an irony that some news channels are showing footage of September floods and passing it off as current situation in Kashmir.
Many top-notch hotels in the Valley are in slump. “For last few days our business has gone down by 60 percent due to massive cancellations,” said an executive of Grand Lalit Palace.
President, Chamber Commerce of Industry Kashmir, Zahoor Ahmad Trumboo, said that negative reportage by national media has jolted Kashmir’s tourism sector. President, KHARA, Showkat Chowdhary said that every year in March and April “Kashmir witnesses intermittent rains which cause water-logging at certain places.”
“However, it would be totally unrealistic to pass this off as floods. National media in order to improve their TRPs are blowing small things happening in Kashmir out of proportion,” Chowdhary said.
Meanwhile, sources said some top tourism department officials have met the stakeholders and assured them to address this issue.
