“While the security preparedness for Amarnath Yatra and safety of tourists is the highest priority of the Government, the concerns raised by tourism stakeholders during a key meeting with the Chief Minister also deserves an equal and immediate attention and intervention of the Jammu & Kashmir Government.”
The tourism in Kashmir has once again come under stress in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack that resulted in killing of 26 tourists from across the country followed by Operation Sindoor an unprecedented response against the perpetrators and backers of the Pahalgam terror attack deep inside Pakistan. As normalcy returned to Kashmir and other parts of the country days after the ceasefire, both the Jammu & Kashmir Government and as well as tourist stakeholders started discussions on strategies for reviving tourist activities amid commencement of peak tourist season in Valley. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah last week held a marathon meeting with the tourist stakeholders on revival of tourist activities. The discussions held at the meeting that revolved around the safety and security of tourist necessitates an inter-departmental coordination between the Police and the tourism department besides engagement with army and paramilitaries which would be better handled by the Central Government and the Lt Governor who commands direct control over the security apparatus in Jammu & Kashmir. The Lt Governor has reviewed the security for Amarnath Yatra and as well as the security situation post Operation Sindoor at Unified Headquarters meeting in Srinagar just to convey a message that security for both the annual Amarnath Yatra and as well as safety of tourists is the highest priority for the Government. While the security preparedness for Amarnath Yatra and safety of tourists is the highest priority of the Government, the concerns raised by tourism stakeholders during a key meeting with the Chief Minister also deserves an equal and immediate attention and intervention of the Jammu & Kashmir Government. To ensure that tourist stakeholders recover from the shocks of Pahalgam terror attack their demands for deferment of EMIs, interest subvention and other related issues deserve immediate attention and intervention of the Government as such measures would release the increasing stress on both the hoteliers and other tourist stakeholders across Jammu & Kashmir.
“While the recent public outrage against the brutal killings of 26 tourists in a terror attack in Baisaran hills of Pahalgam across Kashmir has sent a message of goodwill to tourists both within and outside the country, the return of tourists from different parts of country to Kashmir has just begun and a surge in tourist footfall can be a new beginning for the revival of tourism in Kashmir. Finally it is for the Government and tourist stakeholders to jointly put in their best for developing an atmosphere of peace and goodwill in the region to ensure that tourism not only survives but thrives more intensely than ever before across the Union Territory.”
After all the recovery plans for the tourist holders holds the key to restoration of the summer tourism in Kashmir as the attraction for hilly tourist resorts is more intense than ever before. For all practical purposes tourism recovery plans won’t work without changing the safety perceptions of tourist sactivities in Kashmir. It is for the Government to change the safety perceptions about tourist operation of Kashmir in major states of the country. While the recent public outrage against the brutal killings of 26 tourists in a terror attack in Baisaran hills of Pahalgam across Kashmir has sent a message of goodwill to tourists both within and outside the country, the return of tourists from different parts of country to Kashmir has just begun and a surge in tourist footfall can be a new beginning for the revival of tourism in Kashmir. Finally it is for the Government and tourist stakeholders to jointly put in their best for developing an atmosphere of peace and goodwill in the region to ensure that tourism not only survives but thrives more intensely than ever before across the Union Territory.
