New Director Tourism Kashmir Dr G N Itoo announcing the decisions to organise Baisakhi and Navourise festivals is obviously an attempt to localise tourism in Kashmir obviously due to low tourist inflow into Jammu & Kashmir this year after six months of security clampdown from August 2019 to March last year and COVID-19 lockdown from April till November last year. This time when tourist season is about to commence in Kashmir, the attention of the tourism department should have been entirely focused on upgradation of tourist facilities at tourist hot spots of international repute like Gulmarg and Pahalgam . Director Tourism Kashmir taking stock of the facilities at Eco Park Baramulla is yet another indication of low tourist inflow into Kashmir as otherwise he would focus more attention on upgradation of facilities at tourist hotspots of international repute like Gulmarg and Pahalgam than visiting tourist spots of local attractions like Eco Park on Baramulla-Uri highway. By all standards of understandabilities district officers can take care of tourist places of local attractions to ensure much focused attention of Director Tourism on tourist hot spots of International attraction. Organising gala cultural functions in presence of bollywood stars at Gulmarg alone can’t boost tourism at the tourist places of international attraction in Kashmir .Irrefutable fact is that the upgradation of tourist facilities and involvement of local tour and travel operators in boarding and lodging facilities for tourists are the two priority areas which deserve immediate attention of Kashmir Tourism Directorate.
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For complete revival of tourism the government has to focus as bigger attention on tourism promotion at tourist places of international repute as it is focusing on the arrangements for annual amaranth yatra and facilities at tourist places of local attractions as otherwise any initiative for a successful tourism season would draw a flak.
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Knowing that tourist season won’t be a success without the involvement of local tourist and travel operators in tourist activities in Kashmir the government should have announced a policy for the involvement of local tourist and travel operators in the tourist activities in Kashmir particularly at tourist hot spots of international attraction like Gulmarg and Pahalgam. Holding religious festivals like Baisakhi and Nauroz and upgrading facilities at local tourist places like Eco Park Baramulla can only attract locals at tourist places but such measures can’t attract non local tourists particularly the foreigners to Kashmir. Keeping in view the fact that non local tourist arrivals alone would boost tourism in Kashmir, the focus have to be on promotion of tourism both in other parts of the country and outside India as well. Though annual amaranth yatra is scheduled to commence in mid summer as per the past precedence and practice but government focuses more attention on amaranth yatra and less on tourism promotion. For complete revival of tourism the government has to focus as bigger attention on tourism promotion at tourist places of international repute as it is focusing on the arrangements for annual amaranth yatra and facilities at tourist places of local attractions as otherwise any initiative for a successful tourism season would draw a flak.
