Rise of tourism and hefty charges

The tourism sector has recorded a boost in the last couple of weeks with the administration claiming that Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed the highest-ever tourist footfall in March this year. Amid the claims, the Srinagar airport authority too has witnessed a busiest day on March 28, saying that a record 90 flights were operated in a day and over 15000 passengers were handled. The figures indicate the good tourist season in Jammu and Kashmir, which is set to put an end to the sufferings of people affiliated with the tourism sector. It has been nearly three years that the tourist footfall has witnessed an increase here. In the past couple of years, the hoteliers, houseboat owners, shikarawalas and others were on the verge to switch to other jobs given the hardships they were facing in the absence of tourists. However, the increase in the tourist footfall has not only made the tourism players jubilant but also helped them to compensate for the loss they suffered previously. Some of the issues, however, have come to the fore that the tourists are being charged hefty amounts for almost everything, which need to be looked into thoroughly. There is a need to ensure that the tourists are not charged hefty amounts anywhere for which a committee should be formed and tasked to visit the places across the Valley and come up with the facts in this regard. The authorities should not allow this kind of loot and ensure that the set rates are charged from the tourists so that the current footfall of tourists would continue to increase and the people here could heave a sigh of relief.