Early Times Report
JAMMU, Mar 2: Much ahead of the commencement of the tourist season in Kashmir, things have begun to look dismal for the sector with tourists in droves biding adieu to valley's picturesque mountains and emerald streams.
Soon after the Pulwama terror attack on February 14 when more than 40 security personnel were martyred, a war like situation erupted between India and Pakistan with Kashmir becoming its absolute centre. This has led to wide scale tensions across Kashmir with tourists emptying hotels in hordes. As per the tourism players, this year is going to tougher for tourism as the fear engulfing the scenes is mounting with each passing day.
As per the reports, Rs 7.39 crore were spent by the tourism department of the state last year on its six offices outside the valley. Rs 4.68 crore, out of the entire sum, was spent on advertisements and publicity by its New Delhi office.
However, despite such plethora of public money spent, the results are unreachable so far. Kashmir is witnessing a worst ever dip this year in tourist arrival since the onset of militancy in the region.
As per the latest data, the hit that tourist arrival has witnessed due to the surge in separatist violence has left no less one fourth of the state's population jobless.
Some 20 percent of the state's 12.5 million people directly or indirectly depend on tourism for their livelihoods.
Data compiled by the Indian Journal of Economics and Development in 2016 show that 425,000 people are directly dependent on tourism for their income. They include management and employees of hotels, houseboats, guest houses, restaurant dormitories and tent houses.
A further 2.1 million Kashmiri people indirectly depend on tourism, such as taxi drivers, shopkeepers, vendors and fruit sellers.
The state government records also show that it has some 1 million artisans working in handicrafts sector, whose products are sold to the tourists, mainly as souvenirs.
It is pertinent to mention that tourism accounts for 7 percent of the state's income and is considered an important sector of Kashmir's economy.
Since Hizbul commander Burhan Wani's killing on July 8, 2016, the situation in Kashmir is treading everyday from bad to worse. According to figures from the government's tourism department, some 403,000 tourists visited the valley during the first four months of 2016. However, since then the arrival is witnessing a dreadful dip of more than 50 percent. "It is highly impossible to have tourists during the spring season in Kashmir as the violence is witnessing a spike and anti-militancy operations too have pushed to notch higher. Amid such a situation, why would a tourist prefer Kashmir over other places which are relatively calm and secure," Hamid Abbas, who runs a travel agency here.
Others like hotel owners, shikara walas and people associated with Kashmir's handicrafts too are apprehensive that they would be compelled to leave the tourism business and earn livelihood through other different means. |
