Shattered Tourism Industry of Kashmir awaits revival

Kashmir tourism has been at its lowest since last year. And with the arrival of autumn, tourism stakeholders are expecting that tourists might return to the valley once again. In the last one year, there have been zero tourist arrivals to the valley. The hotel Industry of Kashmir was hoping that tourism revival will start from the spring this year but with COVD Pandemic, the hospitality Industry of valley went into further losses. And now hoteliers are expecting people to visit Kashmir with the arrival of autumn. And since Internationals destinations have not opened so far, we are expecting tourists to arrive in the valley.

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‘’People have been calling us and showing interest in visiting Kashmir. They want to experience the hospitality of the valley. As you know, summer is over and autumn has started. The Chinars have started to change colors. A lot of travelers love this season for the sheer beauty. And there are very limited international destinations to go to and this is the best time to come to Kashmir. We are taking extra precautions with regard to covid’’,says Basharat Rashid, Director Sales, Taj Vivanta.

Kashmir’s world famous Houseboat Industry is also bearing the brunt of COVID. Summer is the peak season for these houseboat owners as thousands of people would throng the valley during hot summer breaks across the country. Autumn is their last hope as no one stays in houseboats in winters. They have had two consecutive seasons with huge losses and it is difficult for them to survive. ‘’We have sanitized our hotels and houseboats. We are expecting the government to ask tourists to come here. We are also requesting people of the country to come to Kashmir. We are hopeful they will come, our livelihood depends on this. We have no other source of income. We are in losses. ‘’ said Bashir Ahmad, House Boat Owner. Kashmir is big on tourism and millions of people associated with the industry are grappling with huge losses. If the losses continue this year, thousands will lose jobs and a lot of the property holders will have no option but to shut.