Indian Kashmir sees ‘highest ever tourist arrivals’ after pandemic slump
- ‘There is a huge rush for bookings,’ one tourism operator in the region famed for its lakes and mountains says – welcome news after some lean years
- Operators say uncertainty about international travel amid the coronavirus pandemic has led high-end Indian tourists to choose Kashmir over European destinations
India’s Kashmir region is attracting record numbers of tourists after the easing of pandemic restrictions and some improvement in the security situation, bolstering local businesses.
Tourist arrivals are set to touch a 10-year high this year, with more than 340,000 tourists having come since January, local tour operators and government officials say, despite restrictions on foreign tourists and some recent incidents of violence.
“We are seeing the highest-ever tourist arrivals in Kashmir this year, with 0.18 million tourists arriving in March only,” Sarmad Hafeez, tourism secretary for Jammu and Kashmir said, adding that April arrivals could surpass March.
Along with horticulture and agriculture, tourism is an important industry for Kashmir, contributing about 7 per cent to its economy, according to government data.
Kashmir touts itself as Paradise on Earth and is home to Dal Lake, a favourite centuries ago with Mughal emperors escaping the summer heat of India’s plains. The lake’s famous houseboats are major attractions along with the nearby Indira Gandhi Tulip Garden, Asia’s largest, and the region’s mountains and glaciers.
Hafeez said an advertising campaign in major Indian cities and the opening of new destinations were attracting more tourists.
Boatman Wali Mohammad Bhat, 54, said he had no work during the pandemic, “but now I am earning 1,000 to 1,500 rupees (US$13-US$20) a day and we expect a good tourist season ahead”.
Many hoteliers and houseboat owners said tourists have booked rooms in advance for the next couple of weeks, and the earnings helped them to pay part of their debts.
I have travelled all over Europe but this place is more beautiful
After a gap of years, hoteliers, taxi drivers and tour operators are doing a brisk business, Ghulam Hassan Bhat, 75, a tour operator in Srinagar, said.
“Hotels room tariffs have gone up by over 30 per cent from the pre-Covid period, and there is a huge rush for bookings,” he said.
The rush is so strong that tour operators say they are having a hard time finding bookings for their clients, as hotels are between 80 per cent and 90 per cent full, and air fares have increased.
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“Hotel rooms are not available in good locations,” said Pronab Sarkar, a New Delhi-based tour operator and the past president of the Indian Tour Operators Association.
Many high-end tourists from wealthier Indian regions such as Gujarat, Delhi and Mumbai were opting for Kashmir instead of destinations in Europe because of pandemic-related uncertainty, operators say.
“We have limited high-end accommodation and commercial transport services here, which is a major challenge for us,” said Mohammad Yasin Tuman, managing partner of Mascot Travels.
But the tourists are not deterred.
Navdeep Singh and his wife, Gurpreet Kaur, came to Kashmir from Australia, saying they were mesmerised by its beauty.
“I have travelled all over Europe but this place is more beautiful. People are warm and friendly and we didn’t see any kind of trouble here,” he said.
