Kashmir,19 April 2021:
The Ministry of Tourism had organised a mega tourism promotion event in Srinagar “Tapping the Potential of Kashmir: Another Day in Paradise” from 11th -13th April 2021 with an objective to showcase the myriad tourism products of the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and promote tourism to Jammu & Kashmir as the destination for leisure, Adventure, Eco, Wedding, films and MICE Tourism.
The event saw the participation of multiple organisations and units in the Travel, Tourism & Hospitality sectors, key Industry stakeholders and Policymakers from Kashmir and hailing from various parts of India.
Highlights of Tapping the Potential of Kashmir: Another Day in Paradise
A special event of one to one B2B meetings was organized among key industry stakeholders from the Travel, Tourism & Hospitality Industry of Jammu and Kashmir and the delegates from rest of India at Srinagar.
It was also attended by local tour operators, hoteliers, houseboat owners, transport companies and other key stakeholders of Travel, Tourism & Hospitality from Kashmir as Sellers.
During the event, Lt. Governor of Jammu & Kashmir Manoj Sinha mentioned that the state is working on a new policy on Film shooting to attract filmmakers and promote the region as a hotspot for film shooting destinations.
Minister of State (IC) Tourism and Culture, Prahlad Singh Patel iterated that the abrogation of Article 370 followed by subsequent development in the state has provided a boost to tourist influx in the region.
“It is encouraging to see that post lockdown the tourist footfalls at the UT of Jammu & Kashmir has increased significantly and coming 3-4 months during the summer season more tourists are expected to visit the destination,” said Advisor to the Lt. Governor, Government of Jammu & Kashmir, Mr Baseer Khan.
He further stated that the Government is planning a long list of new destinations that could be showcased to attract more tourists.
The Future of Kashmir Tourism: Sessions and Discussions
A comprehensive session on “Taking Kashmir to the next level as a preferred tourist Destination” was carried out wherein participating experts deliberated upon various strategies to increase tourist visits in a post-pandemic world.
“Making Kashmir more eventful” panel was organised to discuss the Wedding, MICE and Film Tourism potential of Kashmir.
A discussion on “Showcasing the diverse Tourism products of Kashmir” was conducted wherein the experts deliberated upon various niche tourism potentials of Kashmir including Culture, Heritage, Film, Leisure & Golf Tourism.
A session on “Wazwan, Zaffran, and Shikara – the story continues…” was organised which concluded that Kashmir should not be mentioned as a “Restricted Area” for any Foreign Tourists.
It was also decided that Global experts can be consulted to develop Tourism in Kashmir where International destinations similar to Kashmir like Switzerland etc can be seen as a case study for the betterment of Tourism in Kashmir.
For the advancement of Culinary tourism destinations in Kashmir, separate visual strategies like logo, video, images etc. related to food and cuisines were also considered.
The indigenous, intricate legacy of Kashmiri garments was showcased in an exhibition including exclusive Kashmiri embroideries at the conference venue.
Kashmir’s tourism highlight a “Shikara and boat ride at Dal Lake” was organised for the delegates, followed by a beautiful Laser Show cum musical fountain. This laser show project, which has become a permanent feature at the SKICC in Dal Lake, is now by the Ministry of Tourism.
The Famous Tulips of Kashmir; A Bollywood Attraction
The Tulip garden of Kashmir is a unique tourism site that has been featured in several Bollywood films, It has the potential of attracting tourists from all over the world being the largest tulip garden in Asia spread over an area of about 30 hectares.
The Tulip garden is situated on the foothills of Zabarwan Range with an overview of Dal Lake it was opened in 2007 with the aim to boost floriculture and tourism in the Kashmir Valley. The best time to visit the Tulip Garden is between March-end and early April.
Kashmir and Golf Tourism: Future Prospect
A Golf Tournament was organized at the Royal Spring Golf Course between the delegation of Golfers from various parts of India and local Golfers from Srinagar to promote Kashmir as an International Golf Tourism destination while showcasing the world-class Golf Infrastructure of Kashmir,
In this mega tourism fair, it was noted that Kashmir holds the potential of becoming India’s top and World’s leading Golf Tourism destinations.
The offers outstanding opportunities for golf players all through the summer (April to November) and is one of the main attractions among the incoming tourists.