Tourism in the post-Article 370 abrogation has emerged as a strategic asset for stakeholders in Kashmir as more than two million arrivals till ending August have changed the way tourism was looked at in the previous years. Till yesteryear, tourism was viewed as an economy-enriching activity, generating employment, but there was always a fear of terrorism disrupting it midway or even before the season could start.
This year – 2022- has shown that Kashmir is a round-the-year tourist destination, not merely a holidaying place during summers or skiing on the snowy slopes. It has made a grand shit in the prism the way Kashmir was looked at, perceived and publicized as a place known for beauty and its extraordinary hospitality. That is true of most of the tourist places in the country, but to convert it into 12-months a year tourist destination has been an achievement.
Two views have emerged out of it- ( a) Kashmir’s tourism is uninterrupted in all the four seasons – spring when the Valley is blessed with bloom all over, freshets making the mountains look more beautiful, and the water bodies – rivers, lakes and acquiring newness in their shimmering colours; ( b) it has added to the confidence of the people that things are smooth and the tourists coming from various parts of the country are keen to engage with the tourist resorts as also the people beyond the stakeholders in the tourism industry. The new people- to people bond has emerged.
This perception has changed because of the mutual trust that tourists have in the locals and vice-versa. “ This trust encourages us to do more for the tourists. We know that their word of mouth will matter more than anything else, everyone knows Kashmir is blessed with unmatched beauty, but when they talk of the inner beauty and love of the people here to their people back home, that generates a bond,” says Mushtaq Chaya, who is Chairman of J&K Hoteliers Club, and also a leading hotelier in the Union Territory.
Kashmir is aware of the fact that tourism is the most visible activity that promotes the land, brings jobs, and enriches economy, but more importantly, it helps in negating the negative perceptions that had spawned because of the 30-year-old turmoil. There were sad incidents – devastating floods in 2014, and massive disruption in normal life due to the street protests in 2016. These years left the tourism industry in tatters and the tourists would rethink before embarking on journey to Kashmir, famously known as “ paradise on earth”. The beauty is good, the tourists would say, but the safety and security to life is more important.
These unfortunate events brought difficult times for the stakeholders in tourism sector. There was scarcity in arrival of tourists, and the hoteliers, houseboat owners had to lay off their staff, while taxi operators and ponywallahs struggled to make both ends meet. These were very difficult times.
Secretary Tourism Sarmad Hafiz is of the view that the 2022 has changed everything. This has not given Kashmir tourism not only what it wanted the revival of the industry that benefits everyone, from a street vendor to houseboat owner to shikarawalla, but also filled the gaps in the perceptions about the place here and the places from where the tourists came. The perception has changed – Kashmir is now having positive perception everywhere.
This change in the perceptions, the stakeholders believe, will bring more and more tourists, as this has also encouraged them to deliver more than the scale of their promises made to them. The filling of these gaps will help Kashmir to be viewed differently in the strategic terms as it has negated the negatives, added positives and helped it present what real Kashmir is – a land of peace and prosperity.
All the stakeholders have attributed these positives to the pro-active approach of the UT government under Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to make Kashmir shine on the world map . This brings additional benefits , as it nudges the investors in the land where tourists feel safe and move around in highly positive situation. “ We believe that this change in air in Kashmir is beneficial to all. That’s why we were pushing this sector from all directions with active public participation,” Manoj Sinha has reiterated it time and again.
| Posted by Sameer Khan | 
