Kashmir tourism booms as peace returns home

Sheikh Qayoom   |   Srinagar

29-May-2012

Vol 3 | Issue 21

It's another summer of peace for Jammu and Kashmir and tourists are flocking like never before to this picturesque land of meadows, streams and hills that was deserted just two years ago as tension reigned and bullets flew.

Seeking to escape the searing heat of the plains for the serenity of the famed Kashmir valley, visitors in their thousands are pouring in each day - galvanising the tourism industry and bringing smiles to the faces of thousands of craftspersons, hotel owners, restaurateurs, shikara 'wallahs' and the like.

Tourists crowd around the banks of Srinagar's Dal Lake (Photo: IANS)

In this summer capital, there are simply no rooms to be had. All houseboats on the Dal and Nigeen lakes, hotels and guesthouses are booked to capacity.

"There is simply no place anywhere in the Boulevard Road area, which is the famous haunt of the tourists coming to Kashmir each year. Many locals are now converting their residential homes into paying guest facilities," said Gowhar Maqbool, a hotel owner.

Long queues of tourists are seen outside Srinagar's many Mughal gardens with people waiting for entry tickets to enter the Nishat, Shalimar and Chashma Shahi gardens.

Shikarawallahs, who are so much part of the Srinagar charm with their wooden boats, on the Dal and Nigeen lakes are doing roaring business.

"I have never been this busy all my life. Perhaps God finally decided to be kind to our families," said Abdul Salam, 54, a Shikarawallah in Nigeen Lake.

All taxi stands in Srinagar city are deserted during the day as almost every available vehicle is ferrying tourists to Gulmarg, Sonamarg and Pahalgam and other tourist resorts.

No wonder that Gulmarg, also a key skiing destination in the winters and renowned for its rolling lush green meadows, has played host to more than 500,000 tourists this year. The numbers will go up in the coming months, said officials.

"Between Jan 1 and May 27 this year, 500,000 tourists have visited Gulmarg. This is an all-time record. Less than half this number had visited Gulmarg during this period last year," says Mehmood Ahmad Shah, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Gulmarg Development Authority (GDA).

Ironically, authorities in the state, which had for years been cut off because of militancy and violence, are already looking at a tomorrow where tourists would have to be restricted.

"I am afraid during the coming years we would have to regulate tourist flow into Gulmarg as the delicate ecology of the meadow cannot take such huge tourist inflow," Shah said.

Sonamarg is also enjoying the tourist bounty.

Mir Afag Ahmad, a police officer, said: "Many tourists coming to Sonamarg these days spend nights inside their vehicles. There is no hotel accommodation here these days."

It's a far cry from the earlier summers of unrest.

Last year was the first summer of peace in years for Jammu and Kashmir. But the three seasons before that saw bloodshed and violent street protests.

With the guns having been silenced, the number of tourists is also going up -- from 446,000 in 2008 to one million in 2011. The figures do not include pilgrims to the Amarnath shrine.

The numbers this year could be even more.

"Wonder what kept us away from such a dream destination so far," said Anil Kumar, 34, from Delhi who is staying in a houseboat here.

The memories of violence linger and old-time residents fear that trouble could be round the corner. But the good times, it is being fervently hoped, are back. – IANS