Month on, little hope for tourism revival in Valley
Over a month after the Pahalgam terror attack, there is little hope of revival of tourism across Kashmir as footfall continues to be negligible at various destinations.
From thousands of tourists, it has come down to only a few hundred daily. Most hotels and guest houses are empty, and tourist destinations deserted.
Stakeholders say the tourists trickling into the Valley prefer to stay in Srinagar.
'Last month's attack was death knell for our industry. On April 21, all 40 rooms of my hotel were booked and had advance bookings for the next four months. Within five days of the attack, every tourist left and now, the rooms are empty. There is no advance booking,' said Mohammad Shoiab, who runs a guest house at Shivpora. 'I don't have any hope for revival, at least this year,' he added.
Sheikh Ashiq, former president of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries, said the tourism sector has been drastically affected by the attack. 'Its impact is on every aspect of our economy. It will take six months to one year for tourism to revive again,' he said. He also owns a hotel in Srinagar.
He said that even in Srinagar, the markets look empty and there are barely any customers.
The famous Dal Lake and the historical Mughal gardens, which were earlier crowded with tourists, are empty and shikaras are anchored, waiting for an occasional tourist.
'We used to earn ₹1,000 to ₹2,000 every day in April by ferrying tourists on the Dal Lake. Now, we earn ₹100 as there are very few tourists. We are hopeful that with the start of Amarnath Yatra, tourism activity will again pick up in Kashmir,' said Farooq Ahmad Budoo, as he sits in his anchored shikara on the shores of Dal Lake.
Kashmir Hotels and Restaurants Owners Association president Gowhar Maqbool said situation hasn't improved yet. 'We are hopeful after successful Amarnath Yatra and efforts of UT and Centre, we can revive our tourism sector,' he said.
Officials and tour operators say that when the Pahalgam attack took place, around 2 lakh tourists were in J&K. 'This time, we won't have more than a few thousand tourists and most of them prefer to stay in Srinagar,' said Mushtaq Ahmad, who has a fleet of cabs.
'If the situation does not improve, I will be forced to sell a couple of vehicles due to financial liabilities,' he said.
Hotel Association Pahalgam president Mushtaq Pahalgami said all the local sight-seeing places and parks are closed.
'A small number of tourists have started visiting, but they return to Srinagar by nightfall. We are working hard to revive tourism by using our contacts and hope it will be back on track,' he said, adding that chief minister Omar Abdullah holding a cabinet meeting in Pahalgam and posing for pictures near Lider river will send a positive image around the country.
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