Mubashir Aalam Wani
Srinagar, Sep 27: As Kashmir weather enters into Autumn mode, Tourism department continues to remain abuzz with the increasing tourist influx as over 30,000 foreign guests are among 1.6 Crore tourists who explored the Valley and its off-beat destinations this year so far.
Official details shared by the Tourism Department 1.6 crore tourists visited the valley in the last eight months including 3100 foreign tourists.
From solo bag packers to groups, this figure includes the domestic tourists who have visited from different states after due promotion by the government and private tourism players.
Apart from this number, a total of 31,000 foreign guests have visited the Valley.
Last year a total of 26.73 lakh tourists visited Kashmir, which was the highest number ever seen in the last three decades. Out of 26.73 lakhs, 19954 foreigners had visited the valley last year.
Given the record breaking tourist flow and promotion of Kashmir as leading destinations of the world, the tourism department has bagged the best tourism award this year.
Currently, ahead of the festival season, the bookings for the valley have gone up 30 per cent, which indicates the October and November are going to be lucrative months of the year for Kashmir tourism.
While the administration is expecting to see an all-time high figure this year, tourism players claimed that the successful G20 followed by the robust campaigning by the tourism department has revived tourism in Kashmir.
Farooq Ahmad Kuthoo, a prominent travel agent said they are anticipating a big figure of tourist arrivals this year as well.
“After Covid-19 we saw a successful year of tourism last year. This year, so many events have happened, which makes it clear that a record breaking figure will emerge by the end of the year,” he said.
Kuthoo, who was the former president of Travel Agents Association of Kashmir said the tourism player and general public has equally contributed by giving best services to the tourists visiting the valley.
“We receive a lot of tourists who have come to Kashmir for the second or third time. It makes evident that the general public as well as the stakeholders have shown hospitality for which the valley is known across the world,” he added.
Tourism Secretary Syed Abid Rashid said that special focus is on rural tourism and home stays. “Demand driven infrastructure building is top priority of the tourism department,” he said.
