Tourism Sector

There is no doubt that tourist footfall has increased in Kashmir valley and there is going to be a huge season for the stakeholders connected with this industry.

Recently Secy. tourism reviewed the tourism scenario with stakeholders in order to ascertain the facts on the ground. He asked them not to let prices escalate in view of demand, uphold the highest traditions of local hospitality, so that the tourists come again and again to this place.

He expressed satisfaction over the brisk tourist activity being witnessed in the J&K for which he complimented the stakeholders and the Department for having worked in a synergic mode during the past year or so. He hoped with the same strategy, the tourist numbers this year would cross a record limit.

Having a word of caution for the stakeholders, particularly hoteliers, the Tourism Secretary asked them not to let any particular unit holder take undue advantage of this demand and wear price tags beyond imagination. This, he said, would not only bring bad name to that particular unit but also damage the entire local tourism industry in the long run.

He said the collective efforts and hard work of the Department and the stakeholders during the last two years have borne fruits and the present footfall is the result of those efforts. He however cautioned the stakeholders that nothing should be allowed to be done by any unit holder which brings a bad name to the local tourism industry in terms of escalated pricing, cheating or touting.