Jahangeer Ganaie
Srinagar, Nov 25: After witnessing record tourism flow in summer, Kashmir’s tourism stakeholders are upbeat with the flow of tourists ahead of peak winter.
Currently, hotels are witnessing a close to 50-60 per cent booking but houseboat owners as usual have very low business.
Muhammad Yaqoob Dunoo, spokesman Kashmir Houseboats Association said that this year saw a record breaking tourism season after two years of Covid pandemic.
“With decline in Covid cases, people started visiting tourist spots and Kashmir being called Paradise on earth, tourists started visiting here and there was record breaking tourist footfall up to the end of June this year,” he said.
Dunoo added that currently only five percent of houseboats are occupied.
He said that due to the cold, tourists prefer hotels as against houseboats and most of the houseboats remain closed in winters.
Manzoor Kundroo, Managing Director Great Himalayan Travels and Senior Member of Travel Agents Society of Kashmir (TASK) said that currently tourist flow is 50-50.
He said that they expect December will see good business but as of now there are not many bookings for January.
“The Department of Tourism along with other major travel trade bodies play a vital role in bringing sufficient numbers of tourists to the valley by participating in upcoming Travel Trade Events which are being held in different parts of the country,” he said.
Meanwhile hoteliers from Gulmarg said that tourist footfall is expected to remain quite high in December and January as around 95 percent hotels for these months are already sold out.
