Division of J&K and abrogation of 370 has not affected tourist influx: Director of J&K Tourism in Gujarat

Ahmedabad: Division of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir in to two union territories including that of Ladakh post scrapping of article 370 last year, has not impacted the tourist influx in the Jammu and Kashmir region during the first peak tourist season during this winters, Director of the department of tourism Jammu and Kashmir Bakshi Javid Hamayun today said.

Talking to newsmen here on the occasion of a road show by his department in collaboration with the Kashmir Hotel and Restaurant Owners Federation (KHAROF), Hamayun said that this winter so far around one lakh tourists have visited J & K which was more or less equal to the figures of earlier years. Every year on an average the total tourist influx including that of the peak winter season and the religious tourism in the state remained at around 5 to 6 lakhs.

‘The situation in Jammu and Kashmir was normal. It is safe and peaceful for tourists. The state has been declared the safest one for women across the country as per the national crime records bureau report. The tourist influx was also good. We are conducting road-shows across the country to aware people about the ground realities of the state and invite them to come there in even larger numbers,’ he said.

To a query he told UNI that the post-paid mobile phones and all the landlines in Kashmir were working normally so there was no difficulty for tourists there.

Hamayun said that division of the J& K in to two union territories has not at all impacted the tourist inflow. ‘A tourist is not affected by demographic issues. We still have package tours which include the UT of Ladakh. Nothing has changed from tourism perspective due to the division of the state in to two UT’s, it is purely an administrative issue,’ he said.

He said that the Gujarat was a very important state for J& K tourism as of the total tourists visiting it during winter over 30% comes from this western state.

President of KHAROF, Wahid Malik on the occasion said that he urged tourists to come to Kashmir in large numbers as the situation there was good.

During the road show the tourist destinations were highlighted along with tourist’s stories that showed that J &K was a safe place for a pleasure trip.

DeshGujarat