It’s destination Kashmir for Incredible India.
For the next one year, the tourism ministry’s flagship programme ‘Incredible India’ will focus on bringing international and domestic tourists back to Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.
The J&K tourism department’s gushing description of the state goes like this: “Fruits spill out of brimming baskets, strawberries, cherries, peaches and apricots; all the bounty of a fertile land. Pale green paddy fields rise in tiered steps upon the hills. In the high meadows, trout jump in rushing, snow-fed streams. The encircling snow-capped mountains provide a perfect setting for a valley that’s vibrantly alive.”
And that is basically what the Incredible India campaign will be selling. Just last week, the state government hosted a delegation of the heads of 14 India Tourism offices abroad to give them a first-hand feel of what they’d be selling.
India Tourism offices will now be asked to highlight the Mughal Gardens in Srinagar, Royal Springs Golf Course and Pari Mahal in Srinagar, in addition to the tried and tested formula of houseboats on the Dal Lake.