It was music to ears. But at the same time quite expected. We were just waiting for the right time when the centre would announce it. The centre on Wednesday said that over ten million tourists have visited Jammu and Kashmir till June this year while several measures have been taken that led to significant improvement in the tourism sector.
Tourism is all about marketing – whether word of mouth, events or digital marketing. While word of mouth marketing happens through references and positive feedback. The increased number of tourism-related events conducted by the centre have helped to boost tourism a great deal. Also, the change in the political situation is also a significant contributor. The situation in the Kashmir valley has improved by leaps and bounds. However, the most significant contribution was through digital marketing. A huge number of YouTubers and Instagrammers gave a favourable review of the meadows, off-road destinations, skiing experiences, Gondola rides, golf clubs, hotels, weather and the culture of Kashmir. These YouTubers had millions and millions of followers. Soon their followers started flocking into Kashmir. The result is before our eyes. At the Srinagar International Airport the number of flights landing in Kashmir has increased by many times.
As we write this, thousands of tourists are climbing the alpine lakes atop various mountains. There are more trekkers from the plains of India than the locals. At a few places, it is not uncommon to see a tourist guiding other tourists towards the routes taken to reach these alpine lakes. The number of foreign tourists visiting various tourism-related places is also increasing manifold. Now, Kashmir looks like the Kashmir of the 70s and 80s.
Now that we expect that the inauguration of Sangaldan-Reasi link of Baramulla-Srinagar-Udhampur Railways to be happening on Independence Day on 15th August 2024 it would provide further impetus to tourism. The main thing barring further flow of tourists to Kashmir is lack of affordable transport facilities. Older people susceptible to motion sickness avoid road travel and a good majority of middle-class families cannot afford air travel to Kashmir during peak season – railways will solve this problem. We can expect thousands of tourists reaching Kashmir for the remaining part of this year and summer season next year.
One cannot afford to lose sight of the role played by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha in improving the tourism prospects of Jammu and Kashmir. We hope there will be a significant increase in the GDP of the union territory for the next year.
