More tourists are exploring border villages of Kashmir: Sarmad Hafeez

More tourists are exploring border villages of Kashmir: Sarmad Hafeez

This year, Kashmir has recorded its ‘best ever’ tourist season in decades and it is likely that the footfall could surpass 2.5 million by the end of this month. Sarmad Hafeez, secretary, tourism, Jammu and Kashmir, in an interview with Mir Ehsan talks about the plans which could attract more domestic and foreign tourists towards the UT, especially Kashmir. Here are the edited excerpts:

Can we say J&K, especially the Valley, had best tourist season this year?
Kashmir, which is known for its beautiful places, forests, lakes and snow-clad mountains, had the best-ever tourist season this year. At least 2.3 million tourists have already visited Kashmir till October. Earlier, 13 lakh was our best figure in 2012 and 2013. The tourist arrival has already boosted the business, especially in the tourism sector. Be it hoteliers, cab drivers, people affiliated with houseboats, shikaras, or handicraft traders, everybody reaped benefits of the good tourist arrival. We hope winters too witness a lot of tourism.

What has been done to upgrade tourism infrastructure in J&K?
A slew of activities has been planned and infrastructure being upgraded. Earlier, only Gulmarg used to be the winter tourism destination but now, more places will remain open. Pahalgam also witnessed a good influx last season. Besides Sonmarg, where the ski lift has been made functional, Doodhpathri and Yousmarg will be accessible to visitors as well. Also, Khelo India winter festival along with skiing courses at Gulmarg would be among the key attractions.

How many new destinations have been put on the map this year?
Tourists now have access to more than 70 trekking routes and even villages close to the Line of Control (LoC) where homestays options are available. Many tourists visited far-flung places in Kashmir as well as Jammu region this year. Now, the focus is on promoting border tourism that has shown promising results. We are also planning activities to bolster winter tourism in Jammu.

Are their enough facilities for tourists visiting less-explored regions?
Many places that had remained out of bounds for the tourists were opened this year after the government lifted restrictions. In Gurez, we organised two festivals, one of which was related to polo. This has also helped us in promoting homestays and exploring new places for tourism.

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How does film shooting help in tourism promotion?
After the introduction of new film policy in J&K, many filmmakers and production houses have decided to shoot in the UT. This has provided a fillip to the local tourism and many youths are now earning livelihood from these events.

Has early snowfall at tourist spots helped in footfall?
We are expecting a very good winter tourist season in Kashmir. Not only Gulmarg, we hope tourists will stay at other locations too. Sonmarg is the latest addition to our winter holiday destinations after Gulmarg and Pahalgam. We have been declared as the top off-beat tourism location in the country.

Why should high-end tourists prefer Kashmir instead of foreign countries?
Our locations are best in the world. Our skiing infrastructure and snow quality is on par with European countries. And now, Kashmir is the safest place for tourists. We have planned several activities for high-end tourists like bird watching and skiing. Also, Kashmir is being seen as a big wedding destination. The hotels witnessed full occupancy and advance bookings from high-end tourists this season.

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