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Snow on way, Kashmir gears up for winter tourism with new SOPs
Security agencies implement stringent standard operating procedures, including mandatory CCTVs at hotels and markets, list of visitors with police stations, real-time monitoring of tourist movement and close coordination, to restore tourist confidence after Pahalgam terror attack.
Discreet security arrangements are in place as Kashmir warms up to the winter tourism season after an almost washout year following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives, most of them tourists, and the Red Fort blast in Delhi on November 10 besides the accidental explosion at Nowgam police station four days later.
According to officials, road-opening parties, mandatory CCTVs at hotels and markets, list of visitors with police stations, real-time monitoring of their movement amid close coordination between security agencies are some of the new standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place to restore tourist confidence as winter tourism gets underway in the popular destinations of Gulmarg, Sonmarg and Pahalgam.
Security officials privy to details said that additional checkpoints have been set up around the tourist places “but in a way that visitors won’t feel their presence”.
“There are routine patrols in vulnerable areas, surprise checks and monitoring of CCTV cameras on a real-time basis to ensure tourists are safe,” a senior Jammu and Kashmir Police officer said, requesting anonymity.
Top officers of security agencies, including paramilitary forces, are taking regular feedback from the ground in popular destinations, particularly Pahalgam, Gulmarg, and Sonmarg, he said, adding review meetings are being held frequently and senior officials are conducting ground checks themselves.
As part of the enhanced security steps, the police have registered cases against hotel owners for concealing identities of foreign tourists staying in the Kashmir Valley.
Snow buoys hopes
The meteorological department’s forecast of the season’s first major snowfall of the season next week has now buoyed the Omar Abdullah-led government’s hopes after the Valley saw 90% booking cancellations following the terror attack at Baisaran Valley near Pahalgam. Even after seven months of the terror attack, tourism officials admit the Valley has seen only 30% hotel occupancy as against the usual 70%.
According to tourism department data, 34.98 lakh tourists visited Kashmir last year, up from 31.55 lakh in 2023 and 26.73 lakh in 2022.
Besides terror, Jammu and Kashmir also braved one of its worst monsoons in decades, leading to widespread destruction of infrastructure, including the Jammu-Srinagar national highway.
Addressing a recent tourism-related function in Srinagar, chief minister Omar Abdullah, who also holds the tourism portfolio and is an avid skier, said: “Only people associated with tourism know the challenges they have faced this year. Now the government is committed to providing the sector safe environs. But without snow, we can’t think of selling Gulmarg. Pahalgam and Sonmarg.”
In 2022, 15.42 lakh tourists had visited Gulmarg, while the footfall at the world-famous ski resort touched 16.5 lakh the next year. “Once it snows here next week, tourists, particularly foreign adventure sport enthusiasts are expected to arrive in large numbers for skiing,” said Mohammad Sultan, who runs a travel agency there. “Tourists have begun coming but the number is far lower as compared to last year,” he admitted.
All-weather destinations
Pahalgam, which was a summer tourist destination till a few years ago, is now attracting visitors even in winter as it has been developed as an all-weather station.
Sonmarg is also accessible throughout winter this time after Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the 6.4-km tunnel at Z Morh in January. The tunnel is built at an altitude of 8,500 feet and is located 10km from Sonmarg in central Kashmir. Sonmarg, which gets up to six feet of snow, is a trekkers’ paradise known for its peaks, glaciers, lush forests and lakes, including Vishansar, Krishansar, Gangabal, Gadsar and Satsar.
After the Pahalgam attack, 48 tourist places were closed in Kashmir on lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha’s orders and 28 were reopened in a phased manner following a security review from June to October.
Abdullah is seeking the opening of all closed destinations, particularly those close to Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Doodhpathri in Budgam.
A senior police officer said that the closed spots could be opened only after a comprehensive security review. “We don’t want a repeat of the Pahalgam terror attack, so after reviewing all security aspects, the tourist places will be reopened,” he said.
Abdullah, who visited Gulmarg on Monday to inaugurate tourism infrastructure projects, said: “We can only raise infrastructure, the closing of tourist sites was not our decision. Unfortunately, these things are not discussed with us. If I were to decide, I would have opened every place by now. The closure sends the wrong signal.”
