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Autumn allure, snowfall provide fillip to Kashmir’s struggling tourism sector
The tourism players say the tourism sector has seen a slump after bumper tourism seasons in 2022 and 2023, noting that low footfalls since July after the end of Parliamentary elections
After a lean tourist season in the backdrop of back-to-back Parliamentary and assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir this year and deterioration in security situation, there has been a slight uptick in visitors in November to Kashmir valley, hinting at better days.
The tourism players say the tourism sector has seen a slump after bumper tourism seasons in 2022 and 2023, noting that low footfalls since July after the end of Parliamentary elections. The lull, they say, was further aggravated by the assembly elections in September-October followed by the series of attacks on security forces and civilians.
However, the autumn hues and early snowfall in mountains has begun drawing eyeballs. The tourism department has been busy posting pictures of the Valley’s golden hues and snowy Gulmarg mountains after season’s first snowfall on November 11. “J&K witnessed the first snowfall of the season… Time to pack your bags and head to the winter wonderland,” a post read.
Assistant director tourism Bilal Ahmad, who looks into the affairs of Kashmir’s iconic ski resort town of Gulmarg, said there were two-three lean months owing to elections here as well as in other states like Maharashtra.
Things, he said, have begun to change for good, adding, “The tourist footfall is again picking up. In Gulmarg, the hotels are getting good queries which turn into bookings. Even the cable car is fully booked and people are getting tickets with difficulty. The hotels are also getting advance bookings.”
Hotelier Mukhtar Shah said, “After the lean months this year, the tourism is still very low compared to last year’s November. There are 30-35% bookings.”
Cab driver Manzoor Ahmad echoed the sentiment, saying he remained without work in August, September and October. “There is some 40-50% turn around in the bookings. And many places are seeing a footfall like Srinagar, Pahalgam, Gulmarg and Sonamarg. I am currently taking a foreign tourist couple from Taiwan to Gulmarg,” he added.
Houseboat owners running their business at Dal Lake, however, are not too optimistic. “The last two years were the best, but this year we witnessed only 20% bookings after June-July. After Parliamentary elections in May, everything stopped. And even now, we are hardly 5-10% houseboats booked,” said Abdul Rashid, general secretary of the Houseboat Owners Association.
“There has been some work for high-end hotels, with tourists pouring in from Malaysia and Singapore, besides the government officials,” he said.
Shikara owner, Mohammad Rafiq, still expressed hope, saying, “November started on a good note but the grenade blast in Sunday Market (on November 12) had again put the brakes on the inflow. Slowly, the situation is again changing for good and visitors have started to pour in.”
