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While home footfalls have picked up, the UT has additionally received the bid to host the Skal tourism congress subsequent yr
The tide is lastly turning for Kashmir’s beleaguered tourism business, a key contributor to the Union Territory’s financial system, which has witnessed a 13-month hiatus due to the double whammy of the revocation of particular standing final yr adopted by the COVID-19 pandemic this yr.
International competitors
The silver lining has include the UT profitable the bid to host the fiftieth annual Skal International Asia Area (SIAA) Congress in 2021 through the annual normal assembly just lately in opposition to 4 different cities. Skål International is a an organisation of tourism leaders all over the world, selling world tourism and friendship. The Congress is probably going to be held between April 8 and 11 subsequent yr at Srinagar’s Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC).
“Kashmir has witnessed the darkest phase in the tourism sector ever. The August 5 decision last year kept tourists away due to the official bar for many, many months. The COVID-19 pandemic only prolonged the grim period, witnessing highest ever job losses of around 75,000 in the sector. The SIAA Congress has come as a good omen,” Nasir Shah, secretary of Skal Club of Srinagar, informed The Hindu.
Winning the bid was not straightforward although
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“The Skal is a Spain-based tourism body with 15,000 members and 150 chapters across the world. Kashmir won the spot against four top cities of Europe and Asia. This event will pave way for international tourism players to visit Kashmir and flip the international tourist footfall,” Mr. Shah mentioned.
Mr. Shah, whose group has already began preparations for the occasion, mentioned the J&{K} administration wants to additional streamline COVID 19-related measures to guarantee problem free motion.
Group excursions return
With the pandemic state of affairs enhancing, home vacationers have additionally began planning their visits to Kashmir. In the final week of September, the Kashmir Valley hosted the largest group of 70 docs from Delhi in 13 months on the Royal Hilton resort.
“We can’t stop the cycle of life. A group of doctors decided to come to Kashmir to bring positivity in our team, after spending months inside their homes from March. We chose Pahalgam for being the country’s best hill station,” mentioned Dr. Archana, a health care provider who was a part of the group, mentioned.
According to official figures, the Kashmir Valley has a complete of 40,753 resort rooms in round 1,500 motels. “The occupancy has been around 1% in the last one year,” an official mentioned.
Welcome at Gulmarg
Buoyed by the rising vacationer footfalls, the J&{K} Cable Car Corporation on Saturday restarted Asia’s highest cable automobile, Gondola, in north Kashmir’s ski attraction Gulmarg.
“The second phase of the Gulmarg Gondola from Kongdoori to Apharwat opened for commercial operation October 10. It will be operational only on weekends for the time being. But the operation of Gondola for the first phase, from Gulmarg to Kongdoori, will continue to remain functional on a daily basis,” an official spokesman of the Cable Car Corporation mentioned.
The Corporation has put in place COVID-19 protocols and normal working procedures after boarding and deboarding of passengers.
From an revenue of ₹6.69 crore from tourism in 2018, income plummeted to simply round ₹45 lakh up to now two years, an official mentioned.
A staff of the Tourism Department, headed by Ideel Saleem and Ahsanul Haq Chisti, additionally visited Kolkata this month to entice vacationers over the Durga Puja holidays.
“The tour operators of Kolkata were informed that their counterparts in J&K are geared up and fully equipped to receive tourists and ensure health and safety protocols,” Deputy Director within the J&{K} Tourism division Mr. Chisti mentioned.
According to the Tourism Department, numerous queries from potential vacationers have began from West Bengal for visits in in December and January, when Kashmir’s winter peaks, for snow-covered hills and plains.
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