This is the beginning of the peak tourism season in Kashmir Valley. The schools in northern India are about to declare summer holidays while the schools in southern India have already declared summer holidays. As Kashmir gears up for the peak tourist season, the issue of rising airfares during the peak tourist season has triggered major concern among both tourism stakeholders and the associated businesses.
As the summer season approaches, the airfares between Srinagar and other major Indian cities witness a significant surge, forcing a lot of prospective tourists to cancel their tickets. Last month, a one-way ticket from Srinagar to Delhi used to cost around Rs 3,500-4,000. Now, those prices have skyrocketed to Rs 8,000, with fares often reaching a staggering Rs 12,000-13,000 during peak tourist season. The situation isn’t any better for flights to other major cities. Mumbai, for example, saw ticket prices jump from Rs 7,000 just a month ago to a hefty Rs 11,000.
A small comparative analysis would suggest that compared to Dubai, Hong Kong, and Singapore, Kashmir has become a costly choice for Indian tourists. It is time for the government to step in and to regulate airfares akin to major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, and Chennai. The predatory sales strategies of commercial airlines have a massive potential to benefit foreign tourism destinations and downgrade those within India.
It must be noted that many cities known for their moderate weather in south India have experienced unusually hot weather this year and it was expected that the number of bookings from cities like Bengaluru would witness a great increase. Bengaluru is witnessing hot and humid weather conditions and a lot of prospective tourists had made advance bookings for various tourism destinations in Kashmir. However, due to the skyrocketing airfares most people cancel their bookings. The only loser is Kashmir tourism.
Kashmir can only hope for the inauguration of the only pending railway link between Kashmir Valley and the remainder of India, The Sangaldan Udhampur rail link would ensure that a majority of the tourists have access to a cheaper travel source to Kashmir. Also, it would help neutralise the predatory sales strategies of commercial airlines.
Just waiting for the train to chug between Jammu and Srinagar.
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