Enhancing the tourism infrastructure would help create employment opportunities and aid the economic reconstruction of the Valley.
For the first time after the abrogation of Article 370 and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kashmir Valley has seen a record-breaking revival of tourism, one of the mainstays of its economy. More than 0.34 million tourists visited the Valley during the January–April period, providing a much-needed shot in the arm for the domestic tourism industry. The Sheikh-ul-Alam International Airport handled the highest number of passengers and 102 flight operations on 11 April.
The revival of tourism has primarily been due to the positive changes in the political and security environment of the Valley, notwithstanding the continuance of targeted killings and intermittent acts of disturbance. The industry has already earned a windfall, and the tourist season is expected to boom this year onwards. Hoteliers and houseboat owners have advance bookings for 20 days, and tariffs have increased by 30 to 50 percent, while taxi drivers are happily overburdened after a gap of three years.
The revival of tourism has primarily been due to the positive changes in the political and security environment of the Valley, notwithstanding the continuance of targeted killings and intermittent acts of disturbance.However, the economic gains brought by the boom in the tourism industry may be short-lived and will not provide respite to the growing unemployment if age-old issues such as the Valley’s poor tourism infrastructure and road connectivity are not accorded top priority by New Delhi. Agriculture and horticulture, the other two economic drivers of the region, would also continue to suffer owing to such adverse factors.
The condition of the highway has driven tourists to opt for air travel, which surges to more than double the regular fare during the peak tourist season and at times, is more expensive than an international airfare.The current state of this strategic highway has also added to the worries of the region’s agriculture and horticulture sector, with an estimated turnover of INR 9,000 crores, as the movement of fruits takes an inordinately long time to be exported to other parts of India. Nearly 70 percent of the total population is engaged in farming and fruit cultivation. The condition of the highway has driven tourists to opt for air travel, which surges to more than double the regular fare during the peak tourist season and at times, is more expensive than an international airfare. This adversely affects the reviving tourism industry and the Kashmiri student fraternity that is admitted to different colleges across the country. Notably, the delay in completing the works also hinders the critical movement of the security forces given the geostrategic location of the Kashmir Valley.
Other tourist destinations such as Sonamarg, Yusmarg, Doodhpathri, Peer Ki Gali, Sinthan top, Gangabal, etc. don’t even have the basic tourism requirements such as hotels and restaurants fare worse on this count.While the UT administration has ensured fewer power cuts to major tourist destinations like Pahalgam and Sonamarg, that somehow gave them good tourist arrival during the last winter. However, the lack of essential facilities has demotivated the tourists to explore the other serene places like Yusmarg, Doodhpathri, Peer Ki Gali, Sinthan top, Gangabal, etc. The government needs to urgently look beyond Dal Lake, Gulmarg, and Pahalgam to exploit the region’s full tourism potential of the Valley and beyond. In his recent tour of Dubai, Lieutenant-Governor Manoj Sinha unveiled plans to allow foreign investors in Kashmir’s real-estate sector. Instead, the thrust should be to maximise foreign investments in the hospitality sector to maximise the gains from tourism. Investments in the hospitality sector will not also boost employment opportunities, which remains a neglected area. Tourism currently employs approximately 100,000 people directly and indirectly and accounts for 8 percent of the UT’s GDP. If each of the numerous destinations in Kashmir gets the basic infrastructure without any administrative hiccups, the tourism industry will generate more employment and the share in the UT’s GDP will grow exponentially. Building tourism infrastructure on a war footing and fast-tracking the completion of the highway NH44 widening will economically transform the paradise on Earth. The national media must also avoid highlighting the recent target killings of non-locals following the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A and instead highlight the new opportunities that have emerged after 2019.
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Ayjaz Wani (Phd) is a Fellow in the Strategic Studies Programme at ORF. Based out of Mumbai, he tracks China’s relations with Central Asia, Pakistan and ...
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