Bhaskar Ground Report: Effect of terrorist attack on tourism in Kashmir, foreign tourists not coming due to negative advisory

There is a rush of domestic tourists in the Kashmir Valley, but foreign tourists are not visible.

Despite some recent terror incidents, the number of domestic tourists in Kashmir crossed one million in the first half of this year. But foreign tourists are keeping distance from Kashmir for the third consecutive year.

Less than 200 foreign tourists have reached Kashmir this year. According to GN Itoo, director of Kashmir Tourism, despite the record number of domestic tourists, foreign tourists are absent from Kashmir.

Decline in the number of foreign tourists
There has been a steady decline in the number of foreign tourists to Kashmir for the last four years. In the wake of terrorist incidents, in 2017 the US, European countries and Australia issued advisory to stop their residents from visiting Kashmir, since then there has been a small number of foreign tourists turning to Kashmir.

Last year also, America had issued an advisory to its citizens not to go to Kashmir. Hotelier Bashir Ahmed of Srinagar says, if a government issues a negative travel advisory, then the first disadvantage is that the citizens there do not get insurance cover when they go to the said place. Apart from this, it also creates fear in the minds of the passengers.

Expected increase in the number of tourists
Majority of the population of Kashmir is dependent on tourism. Many domestic tourists have come to Kashmir this year, but foreign tourists spend a large amount of money as compared to domestic tourists. The officials of the tourism department expect that after the end of the impact of Kovid, there will be some increase in the number of foreign tourists this year.