No Xmas cheer: Tourists give Valley a miss

THE KASHMIR VALLEY SAW LOWEST FOOTFALL OF TOURISTS FROM AUGUST TO NOVEMBER THIS YEAR AS AGAINST THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD OF PAST 6 YRS

SRINAGAR: As even the Christmas has arrived, tourists were hard to come by in the Valley this festival, however, local visitors on Wednesday thronged to ski resort of Gulmarg, officials said.

Hundreds of colorful shikaras waited along the banks of Dal Lake on Boulevard Road as boatmen jostled their way to draw attention of a few families who had arrived for a ride on the serene but empty lake.

“For weeks now, I have not received customer. My colleague was fortunate enough as a tourist family took his boat. The houseboats and the hotels on and around the Lake are mostly empty,” said Abdul Hameed, a Shikara owner of Dal Lake.

Similar was the scene some 50 km away from the lake at ski resort of Gulmarg.

“Local visitors and students who are learning skiing have clearly outnumbered tourists this Christmas. Tourists are very few in number,” said Nasir Mehmood Khan, assistant director tourism, Gulmarg.

FOOTFALL NOSEDIVES AFTER ABROGATION OF ARTICLE 370

Tourism nosedived in Kashmir after the J&K government issued a travel advisory asking tourists and pilgrims to leave the valley a few days before the central government revoked the special status under Article 370 of the erstwhile state on August 5.

Though the restrictions have been largely uplifted, post paid phones restored and the travel advisory revoked, but the tourists are hardly coming.

There was a buzz that a Bollywood crew would be spending Christmas in Gulmarg. “Till now they have not arrived, neither any communication has been received in this regard,” said Khan.

At this time of the year when Gulmarg is covered in snow, tourists would normally throng the region. “In winters around Christmas, normally Gulmarg is the ultimate destination of tourists but this year was different. We are hoping new year’s eve will attract more tourists,” said Amarjit Singh, deputy director tourism enforcement.

The Kashmir Valley saw lowest footfall of tourists from August to November this year as against the corresponding period of past six years. According to government figures, only 36,105 tourists visited Kashmir from August to November while 2.68 lakh travelled to valley in these four months in 2018.

“In December 2018, some 32,000 tourists visited Valley while 63,000 tourists in December 2017. The highest tourist influx in recent years was recorded in December 2015 at 78, 000. This December has witnessed negligible footfall,” said Singh.

CLOSURE OF ROAD, AIR TRAFFIC ALSO TO BE BLAMED

Assistant director Khan said that besides the situation in the valley, the closure of road and air traffic was also responsible.

“Fog disrupted flights for more than a week while the SrinagarJammu highway also remained closed for most time in the past two months. These are also responsible for low footfall,” Khan said. The tourism department is now planning to woo tourists for the New Year’s Eve as well as for skiing in January. “We are planning skiing in January to attract foreign and domestic tourists,” he said