Bhaskar Ground Report: Tourists in Kashmir will now be able to see the villages of PoK; Bullets used to rain here, now home stays are open

The movement of tourists in Kashmir has reached a record level. 6.05 lakh tourists have arrived in the first four months (January-April) of the year. This trend is telling that the record of most tourists can be broken in a year. Prior to this, the maximum 13 lakh tourists had come in 2011. Last year, 6.61 lakh tourists had arrived in the whole year.

Farooq Kutho, president of the Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators in Kashmir, said, “Hotel occupancy is running up to 80-100%. All major hotels in the valley are booked for May. Tourists should book hotels online before reaching Srinagar, otherwise there may be problems. The influx of tourists can be gauged from the fact that in the last week of March, 90 flights were operated daily at the Srinagar airport, which was a record. Now there are 112 flights every day.

4 main reasons for increasing tourists

75 new tourist destinations being developed Huh
75 new tourist destinations are being developed for the tourists. These offbeat spots are planned on the theme of adventure sports, trekking and wildlife. Along with this, through home stay, nature guide, track operator, food stall, employment will be increased in the villages.

Home stays have started opening in remote villages for the first time
Residents of villages near the LoC are also converting houses into homestays to host tourists. This is a big change. Due to this, employment is coming to the villages on their own. Many such small cafes and home stays have started in the border areas.

The face of the valley is changing, the unemployment rate is 10% decreased
There are lakhs of jobs in the tourism sector in Jammu and Kashmir. According to data from the Center for Monitoring Indian Economy, the unemployment rate in Jammu and Kashmir was 25% in March 2022, which has come down to 15% in April. The unemployment rate has fallen by a record 10% in just one month.

Be a stronghold of terror, now full of tourists
In view of the influx of tourists, the government has opened many tourist places in the villages situated on the Line of Control. Till now tourists were not allowed to go here. Areas like Keran, Gurez, Tangdhar, Machil and Bangas have started emerging as new tourist destinations. These have been listed by the tourism department. The villages of PoK are clearly visible from here. There used to be daily firing here, but now there is ceasefire for a long time.