Jammu: Last year, Irfan Ahmad Mir won more than five thousand rupees only as a tip from tourists, who in droves, amid the thick flakes of snow flocked to Kashmir’s famed tourist destination- Gulmarg-to celebrate new year with all gaiety and festivity.
This year, however, fate for this 23- year-old horseman isn’t in his favour. He was waiting eagerly , since spring, for the winter to arrive. The tourists whom he hosted last year had promised him that they would come to again to Kashmir and that he was going to take them on horseback to the enchanting hills of Gulmarg- rimmed on both sides with tall pines and wrapped with thick blankets of snow. None came in and the tourist resort, otherwise packed to capacity with skiers and travel lovers from across the globe is wearing a deserted look.
Not even a single tourist has come, laments Mir. For him, the current embargo is the most dreadful one of all he has been witnessing in Kashmir. Not even his father, he says, has seen such a desolation in Gulmarg on new year eve. The eerie silence is engulfing him to the core as he explores ways to earn livelihood through other means. “I used love this work. I was passionate to host tourists, take them to places and show them Kashmir. I fear that no one will come to this place for decades now. Kashmir seems to have become the most unfit place for human habitation, leave alone luring outsiders to explore its picturesque beauty,” Mir said
Mubeen Syed, a travel operator cites internet blockade as a primary reason for the dreadful dip in the tourist inflow in Kashmir this year. According to him, with no internet in place, the tourists who want to visit Kashmir establish no contact with the travel operators and the fear of violence also makes them reluctant to get inside the landlocked Valley- a place which used to be a must go destination for snow lovers, honeymooners and skiers in winter. “God knows when will we see the tourist rush again. For now, its all mirror and smoke. Believe me we haven’t seen such desolation at the tourist spots ever in the past. I mean not even a single tourist- this used to be an unthinkable thing,” said Mubeen.
According to Secretary General of Travel Agents Association of Kashmir (TAAK), Farooq Ahmad Kuthoo, the continuous internet suspension has added to the miseries of people affiliated with the tourism sector and that the tour operators have suffered unimaginable losses in this year. “Internet is the basic tool for tour operators. As the internet gag continues in Kashmir, we (tour operators) are not able to access our emails. The bookings constantly getting diverted,” he said.
A senior government official in the department of tourism told that there is a dip of 97 percent tourist arrival in Kashmir this year and that the uncertain situation prevalent in the region is the main reason for decline. “We believe the restoration of communication services and the internet could act as a game changer in tourist arrival and the government is planning to hold road shows in various Indian states in order to lure the travellers back to valley ,” the official divulged.
The government, as per official records, has spent Rupees four crore over its promotional campaigning during the past two years. The department has spent Rs 3.86 crore on advertisements in Indian and international media, including newspapers, magazines, and travel journals, to promote the state’s tourism sector.
Some 20 percent of the Kashmir’s 12.5 million people directly or indirectly depend on tourism for their livelihoods. Data compiled by the Indian Journal of Economics and Development 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 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 region's income and is considered an important sector of Kashmir's economy.
|
