Adil Sadiq
Srinagar: After successful autumn season, the tourism players hope for a ‘massive’ surge in arrivals during winter.
In the ongoing Autumn season, the occupancy in high-end hotels have gone up to 80 per cent whole for budget category its 40 per cent.
Now when the winter is arriving, the rush is expected to increase, claim travel agents.
We are getting enquiries for winter and it is likely to be a bumper season,” President Travel Agents Association of Kashmir (TAAK), Farooq Ahmad Kuthoo said.
Kuthoo said the opening of Sonmarg for winter season will be the main attraction after Gulmarg, where winter games are being held.
“It is a good sign for winter that Sonmarg will be open for tourists. A lot of tourists can visit Sonmarg to enjoy the winter season in good accommodations,” he said.
The tourism department too is planning an aggressive promotional blitzkrieg to sell Kashmir as a niche tourist destination.
The programmes started in October and are scheduled to continue till March. From organising festivals to festivals to musical evenings, the department has chalked out strategies to promote tourism on a bigger scale.
Hoteliers too said the occupancies in November has surged. “On festivals we have a very good occupancy in hotels. Right now, tourists mostly from Maharashtra, Gujarat and West Bengal are visiting Kashmir to spend their vacations” said Waheed Ahmad Malik former president of Kashmir Hoteliers and Restaurant Association (KHARA).
More than 2.4 lakh tourists have visited Kashmir this year so far with August recording the maximum footfall.
Official data reveal that 2,41,035 tourists visited the valley till August. They include 796 foreigners.
