Steep hike in airfare hits tourist arrival in J&K

State has no control over airfares and the airlines are citing ‘demand and supply’ as reason behind rate hike. AMARJEET SINGH, deputy director tourism (enforcement)

SRINAGAR:EVEN after the cessation of security operations in Kashmir, the tourism sector here seems to take a back seat because of high airfares. The tourists intending to make a trip to Kashmir are changing their plans because of high air prices.

Sheikh Danish, who runs a travel agency in Srinagar said, “I get over 50 enquiries daily from Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi but most of those got cancelled due to flight fares and also one can’t reach Kashmir directly by train.”currently, a one-way travel from Delhi to Srinagar can cost a person between ₹11,000 to ₹22,000 and if one intends to travel even after a week, the prices will still range from ₹7,000- ₹17,000.

“Earlier, one could easily get a return ticket from Delhi-srinagar for ₹7,000-8000 but now the budget gets over ₹15,000. If a three-member family sets a budget of ₹30,000, it is impossible for them to pay ₹50,000 only for the tickets,” Danish said. Aparna, a resident of Chennai, said she had cancelled her intended trip to Kashmir because of prices. “I wanted to come with my husband but the prices of the tickets were very high. Our total stay and travel cost was shooting up to around ₹65,000 and with this budget, one can travel to Dubai,” she said.

The tourists had started to come here in good numbers in March but the graph stagnated after a series of gun fights between militants and government forces in April and beginning of May, which led to the killings of many militants and civilians. A tourist from Chennai had also died after being hit by a stone during a protest.

Then the Centre had asked security forces to stop security operations from mid-may to allow Kashmiri Muslims to observe Ramzan in peace.

Wahid Malik, president of Kashmir hotels and restaurant owners’ federation (KHAROF) said they are expecting improvement in the tourism sector after Ramzan ceasefire.

“We are also giving discounts but the airline fare kills. Many tourists plan quick vacations but what pushes them back are the high travel prices,” he said. Shah Faesal, managing director of J&K state power development corporation, took to twitter to express his resentment against the rising sky fares. “Delhi-srinagar, Delhileh flights are priced at par with Delhi-singapore, Delhi-phuket, Delhi-dubai and Delhi-istanbul flights. And then, we are asked why people of J&K don’t see themselves as a part of India? Can someone question the airlines also?,” he tweeted.

Deputy director tourism (enforcement) Amarjeet Singh said the state has no control over air fares and the airlines were reasoning on the basis of ‘demand and supply’. “They say that when demand increases, prices rises and when there is no demand, the airlines have to sell tickets at very low prices,” he said.