Another Day in Paradise: Event to revive domestic tourism in Kashmir
In a govt sponsored event aimed at reviving Goto domestic tourism in Kashmir, both local and foreign dignitaries gave gratuitous description of the valley recalling its serene environs and indigenous crafts.
To travel is to live, as it was asserted by Hans Christian Andersen once but what if circumstances are such that the opportunity to access various cultures and territories is curtailed by the providence itself and mass tourism is on the verge of becoming a history.
As international tourism has come to stand still, ministry of tourism endeavors to revive the domestic tourism by engaging various stakeholders to devise innovative solutions to spur the tourism activities in valley, the event received participation from who’s who from the Travel, Tourism & Hospitality sector, key Industry stakeholders and Policy makers from Kashmir and various parts of India.
Another B2B meeting was also organized among key industry stakeholders from Travel, Tourism & Hospitality Industry of Jammu and Kashmir and the delegates from rest of India at Srinagar. The meetings were attended by local tour operators, hoteliers, houseboat owners, transport companies and other key stakeholders of Travel, Tourism & Hospitality from Kashmir as Sellers. The buyers included top notch Tour operators, DMC’s, Film personalities, Eco tourism specialists from various parts of India.
Addressing the gathering virtually during the inaugural session Manoj Sinha, Lt. Governor of the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir mentioned that the UT of J&K will come out with a new policy on Film shooting to attract film makers and promote the region as a hot spot film shooting destination.
Minister of State (IC) Tourism and Culture, Government of India, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel mentioned that the abrogation of Article 370 and other subsequent development works has given a big boost to tourist influx in the region.
The tag of “Restricted Area” should go for any Foreign Tourists. Global experts can be consulted to develop Tourism in Kashmir. International destinations similar to Kashmir like Switzerland etc.
An Exhibition of various Kashmiri garments, embroideries and food were organized at the conference venue. Along with this there was a Shikara and boat ride at Dal Lake for the delegates, which was followed by a beautiful Laser Show cum musical fountain at the Dal lake. The laser show project , which is now a permanent feature at the SKICC in Dal Lake, has been funded by the Ministry of Tourism.
As per Ambassador of Vietnam H.E. Pham Sanh Chau who has been in various parts of the world like Canada, Switzerland, other parts of Europe, Vietnam and many more, “one can find the beauty of the entire world in Kashmir itself.”
Cover image by Skift
