Khursheed Wani
SRINAGAR: As curtains are drawing on year 2012, the arrival of tourists to Kashmir continued on the penultimate day even as spine-chilling cold engulfed the entire region.
The authorities say Kashmir has redeemed itself as 365-day tourist destination as the inflow of tourists remained a constant feature during all four seasons of the year, which has been the “least violent” in more than two decades of conflict.
On Sunday, flights packed with tourists arrived on Srinagar International Airport and most of the merrymakers directly headed for famous tourist resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir to celebrate New Year. The inflow of tourists is expected to continue on December 31.
Much to the delight of tourists, the hill resorts of Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Sonamarg experienced second heavy snowfall of the season on Saturday. Several tourists headed for the Valley through Srinagar-Jammu National Highway were held up on the vital highway due to snowfall triggering avalanches.
“The dullness with which the winter used to arrive in Kashmir has gone, at least in the winter tourist destinations,” agreed Muhammad Azeem Tuman, noted tour-operator and head of Houseboat Owners Association.
“We may not be getting our share of guests in Srinagar as the tourists head for Gulmarg or Pahalgam directly from the airport, but the scene is prosperous and encouraging”.
‘No longer Summer destination’
Abdur Rashid, a hotelier in Bishamber Nagar near Dal Lake says that his hotel is packed to capacity on the year-end. “Usually by this time, we were closing our hotel for three months but this year bookings are continuing. It has been a bumper season,” he said.
Officials in the tourism department say that steady flow of tourists is continuing even as a wave of spine-chilling cold has engulfed the region. “On an average we receive 2,500 domestic and over a hundred foreign tourists since the beginning of December,” deputy director tourism Azmat Ali said.
The number of tourists reaching Kashmir this year is likely to touch record 1.3 million by the year-end. This excludes 6.3 lakh pilgrims who visited holy Amarnath Cave in July and August.
“Kashmir is no longer a summer destination. It has become a 365-day destination. Our main attraction during winter is Gulmarg, which is the best ski resort in South Asia and fourth best in Southeast Asia,” said Tourism Minister Nawang Rigzin Jora.
“We have befitting infrastructure for skiing. This year we spent Rs 18 crore on a ski-lift dedicated to skiers only,” he said.
This year, the Government’s focus is on luring more and more high-end tourists. Lack of befitting infrastructure, which was a serious impediment in going whole hog to invite this class has been addressed. On December 20, a five star Himalayan Resort built by an industrial group for an investment of Rs 120 crore was inaugurated.
The introduction of new property in Gulmarg is destined to expand the scope of heli-skiing as one of the main niche activities, apart from normal skiing. The luxurious sport involves helicopters, which take people up slopes, drop there and they ski down the slopes. Sonamarg is an active destination for heli-skiers for several years.
“For heli-skiing, Gulmarg has been given to a New Zealander who has a tie-up with a Kashmiri fellow. Pahalgam will be taken care of by a German operator in collaboration with Himalayan heli-skiing.
There is another French operator, Sylvan Sudan, one of the best known skiers in the world known as “impossible skier”, he brings in groups from France and Europe and does heli-skiing in Sonamarg. He shall be based in Srinagar,” Jora explained.
(Courtesy: Pioneer)
