The Hindu : `Fears over militancy threat in J&K exaggerated'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Apr 19, 2003

International

International

`Fears over militancy threat in J&K exaggerated'

Dubai April 18. From 60,000 foreign tourists during the peak season in 1988 to just 3,000 last year, it has been a downhill slide for tourism in Kashmir but the Valley is determined to bring back tourists in large numbers to regain its reputation as a pristine scenic destination, M. Ashraf, Director General, Tourism, Jammu and Kashmir, has said.

``The fears over militancy threat in the Valley are overrated and we are aiming to target overseas tourists particularly the Arab nationals in a big way,'' Mr. Ashraf, who was here to make a major pitch for Kashmir among travel industry leaders said.

Mr. Ashraf said the fall in tourist arrivals in Kashmir was not due to militancy threats but extraneous factors. The quake in Gujarat and the riots in Gujarat dramatically hit tourism in Kashmir as domestic tourists from Gujarat were the major contributors to the sector traditionally.

He said militants have not targeted tourists and with the new 250 acre golf course and new five star hotels, Kashmir was all set to do well in the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2003 conference to be held here shortly.

Shyam Sunder, the regional manager for Indian Airlines, said the airline has introduced summer packages offering fares of Rs. 2,000 from Delhi to Jammu or Kashmir for passengers from the Gulf to Delhi.

Mr. Ashraf said the Kashmir Tourism Department had prepared brochures in Arabic, Japanese and Chinese to be distributed among travel agents the world over. He said the State Government was offering special packages to film producers to shoot in Kashmir, providing helicopter services at discounted rates.

He said the Tourism Department had invited Dadasaheb Phalke award winner, Yash Chopra and five other producers Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Ramesh Sippy, Manmohan Shetty, Ramesh Tulani and Ashok Jhakaria to Kashmir in order to convince them about the changing milieu in the Valley.

— PTI

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International