SRINAGAR, July 7: Union Minister for Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, on Monday, said that tourism in Kashmir is on a revival path after a temporary slowdown following the April 22 attack in Pahalgam.
He credited this resurgence to swift and coordinated efforts by both the Jammu and Kashmir administration and the central government.
“After the Pahalgam incident, the stagnant tourism has come back to life. I believe that the way State Government has started working on this, and the central government has also sent different delegations, ministers, and organized different conferences.
This confidence-building exercise will be fruitful. And shortly, Kashmir’s tourism will return to its previous momentum,” Shekhawat told reporters in Srinagar after attending the inaugural session of the two-day ‘Tourism Secretaries’ Conference of all States and Union Territories.
The conference is being held at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC), Srinagar and it has together the tourism secretaries and Heads from across the country for high-level deliberations on collaborative policy-making and strategic planning in the tourism sector.
Shekhawat recalled his visit to the Valley last June, during which he traveled extensively to spread the message that “Kashmir is safe.”
He urged people to move past recent events and focus on reviving the tourism sector.
“Let us forget what has happened and move forward. Let us revive the tourism of Kashmir and try to take it forward as it has been growing for the last three years,” he said.
On the objectives of holding the two-day conference in Srinagar, the Union Minister said the purpose was twofold- one was that Kashmir is safe, post Pahalgam attack.
“The tourism secretaries from all over the country, who deal with tourism subjects, should go and give a message in their states. So that our domestic tourism can build up by taking it back as a confidence-building exercise. Second, to jointly explore new ideas for enhancing the end-to-end tourist experience,” he said.
Shekhawat referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of developing at least 50 iconic, global-standard destinations in every state.
“To meet this goal, we must think collectively, share experiences, and work with out-of-the-box new ideas,” he added.
When asked about the difficulties tourists are facing while traveling on the highway due to the ongoing Amarnath Yatra, the Union Minister emphasized that both tourism and the Yatra have coexisted for years.
“They have been taking place side by side for many years, and this will continue in the future as well,” he said. “To ease such challenges, the government has significantly upgraded infrastructure, from expanding highways to laying new railway lines. The situation will gradually improve.”