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At ₹100 crore, Gulmarg Gondola’s revenue collections soar to a new high
Officials said the revenue realised by Cable Car Corporation, running the Gondola in ski resort of Gulmarg in Baramulla from April 1, 2022 to March 13, 2023, is more than double the amount of ₹47.81 crores realised in 2021-22.
Riding on the highest ever wave of tourists into Kashmir, Gulmarg Gondola, one of Asia’s highest aerial tramways, located in deep Himalayas near the Line of Control (LoC) in Baramulla district, fetched an annual revenue of ₹100 crore in 2023, the highest since its inception in 1998.
Officials said the revenue realised by Cable Car Corporation, running the Gondola in ski resort of Gulmarg in Baramulla from April 1, 2022 to March 13, 2023, is more than double the amount of ₹47.81 crores realised in 2021-22.
“Gondola sales are touching ₹100 crore for the first time in history and the same was mentioned in the budget speech in Parliament,” said Ghulam Jeelani Zargar, managing director of the J&K Cable Car Corporation.
Gulmarg (the meadow of flowers), which is located close to LoC in the Pir Panjal mountain range in western Himalayas, some 50km from Srinagar, is defined as a cup-shaped valley with virgin peaks, dry curry powder snow and vast meadows.
The Gondola in Gulmarg has two phases -- the first phase takes a person to Kongdori at a height of 8,530-ft, for ₹740 per person, while the second phase soars to Apharwat at a height of 12,293-ft and costs ₹950/person.
“It was possible by getting the highest number of tourists into Kashmir. There has been a marked improvement in the security situation and tourists are now feeling safe in Kashmir. The government ran promotional campaigns and efforts to promote Kashmir,” he said.
In 2022, a whopping 26.73 lakh tourists visited Kashmir, the highest ever in its history. Out of this, 15.42 lakh made it to Gulmarg with a majority taking a ride in the cable car. The tourist numbers are more than double than the previous highest of 12.99 lakh in 2016. “Some 8.51 lakh visitors rode the Gondola in the just concluded financial year,” Zargar said.
The Gulmarg Gondola project was conceived in 1988, a year before a bloody insurgency broke out in Kashmir that has killed thousands so far. The work on the project was going on till 1990 after it was stopped due to the unprecedented security situation in the state. The work resumed in 1998 for completion of the Phase-I of the project running from Gulmarg to Kongdori after which it was thrown open to the public in May 1998.
The project became a major tourist attraction despite militancy in the state. After the violence started declining around 2005, the second phase of the Gondola project, running from Kongdori to Apharwat Mountain, at a height of 13,500-ft, was thrown open for public, making it the one of the highest and largest ropeways in Asia having a total aerial distance of five kilometres.
The figures by the corporation state that from 2005-06 to 2011-12, the Gondola earned revenue of over ₹71.5 crores. In the past eight years, starting 2015-16, the corporation realised a revenue of over ₹305.7 crores. “Normally our sales would hover around ₹25 crores. In extreme jump years, it would go above ₹40 crore as was seen in 2015-16 and in 2021-22. Now, it has risen to ₹100 crores,” he said.
Zargar said it was a big challenge for the cable car corporation to prepare its infrastructure for the tourist influx and rush.
“We were prepared for this. We took many steps so that visitors have a better experience. The biggest step which helped earn high revenue was online ticket registration. Tourists can now book their tickets at ease from the comfort of their homes without waiting in a queue in Gulmarg,” he said.
He said tickets have time slots like airways. “Every ticket now has a specific time like air tickets which allows people to visit Gondola in a staggered way. We also hired security guards,” he said.
The corporation has also improved public utilities like washrooms at Kongdoori. “We also outsourced a restaurant providing world class food to people. In Apharwat also, we installed a food counter,” he said.
