‘A trip to Southeast Asia is cheaper than Kashmir’: Tourism players flag airfare hike; send SOS to government

Srinagar: Tourism stakeholders have sent SOS to the government after airline companies hiked fares for the second time in three months.

Tourism players fear the steep hike could hamper the flow of tourists in spring.

Presently, Kashmir is witnessing a massive rush of tourists, particularly from Maharashtra and Gujarat. All hotels and houseboats are booked till April.

For the last one week, the airfare has increased by 75 percent.

A cursory look at the airfare chart by portals including MakeMy Trip and EaseMyTrip shows that the fare from New Delhi to Kashmir has gone up to Rs 14,000.

Barely one or two weeks before, the airfare from the same destination to the valley was just Rs 5000-5500. The return ticket from Kashmir to Delhi has also witnessed a hike of nearly 35 percent. A ticket to Delhi sells at Rs 83,00.

From Gujarat, where from Kashmir receives tourists in good proportion, the airfare ranges from Rs 12,000 to 18,000.

The airfare from Maharashtra to Srinagar is Rs 13,000. The hike of more than 50 percent.

Currently on average 12000 passenger travel to and fro in 68 flights at Srinagar airport. It is almost 3000 more passengers compared to the peak winter months – January and February –when Kashmir received 2.5 lakh tourists.

Travel agents fear that the current hike in airfare could affect the tourist flow in spring. They said that they have put a demand of regulating airfare to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.

“We are getting calls from our clients that the airfare to Srinagar is much higher than other destinations. It disturbs our packages and impacts the entire hospitality sector. We have put a demand of regulating airfare and tariff of the hospitality sector in general here to the government earlier,” said Manzoor Ahmad Pakhtoon, chairman Kashmir Houseboat Owners’ Association.

He said the government should put a cap on airfare. “Air travelers comprise a huge proportion of our total arrivals. A package to Southeast Asia is much cheaper than Kashmir because of the airfare hike,” Pakhtoon said.

Official sources said that the airfare hike has been deliberated and more flights will be added to cater to the rush of tourists. “The basic reason behind the airfare hike is the enormous rush of tourists to Kashmir. More flights are expected to be added for Srinagar airport in coming weeks,” they said.