Tag Archives: Jammu and Kashmir

Zeeshan Khan, Assistant Director, Kashmir Tourism said that to celebrate 75 years of independence, Jammu and Kashmir government has identified 75 off-beat destinations among which 38 are in Kashmir and 37 in Jammu”. The Jammu and Kashmir government is focusing on campaigns aiming at confidence building. The government is also focusing on capacity-building programs, as a result of these rigorous promotions, the state witnessed a record-high tourist footfall of 6,00,000 this year.

The tourism department of Jammu and Kashmir has revealed that 600,000 tourists have visited the valley in the past four months—the highest in the last ten years. The famous Kashmir valley has hotels and houseboats fully booked with tourists queuing up for shikara rides on the Dal Lake. The tourist destination is witnessing record-breaking tourist footfall in the past one decade.

In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, CEO, NITI Aayog, Amitabh Kant, had an interaction with the Administrative Secretaries of different Departments in Srinagar today. Kant said that long term growth needs the involvement of private players in a transparent and competitive manner.”The industrial sector is the one having a major role in creating jobs, therefore focus on ‘Ease of Doing Business’ which will help bring in private players and that NITI will support the government through transaction advisors in range sectors that may need to involve private players, besides, creating an ecosystem for large companies,” he added.

Jammu and Kashmir get first-ever cruise facility with musical fountain in Dal Lake, attracting tourists in large numbers, reveals Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Ind. Charge) Science&Tech and (Ind. Charge) Earth Sciences. He called it a historic breakthrough in tourism sector on his recent visit to the Union Territory.

Manoj Sinha, Lieutenant Governor, Jammu and Kashmir, has announced a Rs 3 crore relief package for people employed in the tourism industry, which has seen severe impact by the second wave of Covid-19. “In this package, Rs 2,000 financial assistance will be provided to 4,444 registered ‘shikara’ owners, 1,370 tourist guides, 6,663 ‘ponywalas’ and 2,150 others, including those who rent palanquins for yatris. The money will be paid for two months. The relief will be transferred to only those who are registered with the tourism department,” revealed an official of the tourism department.

In an attempt to boost connectivity between Jammu and Doda, especially during the winter season, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir plans to begin a chopper service between the two destinations from Tuesday, October 24. Pawan Hans helicopters would be used for this service and will operate twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays between the two districts. The one-way fare for a traveller has been fixed at Rs. 2,500. The service is likely to help promote tourism and provide an alternative means to communicate between the two districts during the winter season when parts of the region remain cut off. Source: Financial Express

With a 150 per cent growth in registrations in comparison to last year, GPS Chandigarh managed to outdo itself in this Tier-II city by some margin. “We received nearly 1000 registrations for GPS Chandigarh this year and with the excellent quality of buyers we have brought in, the number of exhibitors saw a growth of 30 per cent, registering 80 exhibitors over 50 exhibitors in the last edition,” revealed Harmandeep Singh Anand, Founder, Global Panorama Showcase (GPS). The show received over 600 buyers over the two days of the B2B session.  One of the key features of GPS this year was the paperless format, which was introduced last year but perfected this year. The use of technology in conducting a major business show like this was very well received by the trade present in Chandigarh who heralded it as a revolutionary and futuristic concept. The exhibitors were especially happy with the quality buyers that the show provided them from key market areas such as Punjab, J&K, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh etc apart from local buyers from Chandigarh. The next stop for GPS this year is Kolkata which will be held from July 27-29, 2017 and is expected to bring to the fore vast tourism offerings from the eastern wing of the country.

Cygnett Hotels and Resorts has now entered Jammu and Kashmir with the launch of their first hotel in the region-Cygnett Park Asia in Jammu. The hotel houses 44 rooms and suites, with an open swimming pool, and other fitness services such as an in-house multi gym, sauna, steam, and whirlpool facilities. Sarbendra Sarkar, Founder & Managing Director, Cygnett Hotels & Resorts, says, “Cygnett Park Asia, Jammu is an exciting addition to the Cygnett Hotels portfolio. We believe the city of Jammu has incredible potential for business and hospitality growth, making it an obvious choice for the Cygnett Hotels brand. Working with one of the most experienced Hotels in this region will set new standards in offering guests a dynamic hotel experience, and this association will resonate the essence of The Cygnett Hotels and Resorts in its global expansion.” At Cygnett Park Asia, the menu features exquisite Kashmiri cuisine, an array of extensive continental, Chinese and Indian delicacies.

In an attempt to boost tourism in the valley, the tourism department of Jammu and Kashmir has announced to offer rebates on lodging and transport charges. “Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation (JKTDC) will provide 50 per cent rebate on lodging and transport charges or even on total packages in some cases to the tourists visiting the Valley,” said Ghulam Jeelani Zagar, Deputy Director of  Kashmir Tourism. He further informed that private tourism players were also offering 32 per cent concessions in boarding and lodging or on total packages to the tourists. Zagar also informed that West Bengal topped the list in domestic tourist inflow in the valley. The total tourist inflow in the valley during 2016-17 was nearly 17 lakh though the state is hoping that this number would be more this year following massive campaigns to boost the sector. ““Foreign tourists, however, was only about 35,000 during the year 2016-17, of which majority were from South Asia,” said Zagar. The state government is emphasizing on carrying out a mass publicity campaign to attract more tourists from other states and abroad to the valley

The Secretary for Tourism and Floriculture, Jammu and Kashmir, Farooq A. Shah along with the ICPB India convention promotion bureau (a body working under the aegis of Ministry of Tourism GOI for promoting MICE Tourism), have decided to enable a platform for the state of Jammu and Kashmir to showcase itself as a suited MICE destination. The office bearers of the ICPB assured the Secretary that the state will be promoted as one of the priority venues for conferences and events of national and international standard. Shah showcased the international standard MICE tourism potential of the state particularly in Kashmir like SKICC, Pahalgam club, and places like Gulmarg and Jammu as well. The secretary agreed to organise an intractable evening session specifically for promoting the MICE potential of the state in which leading prominent MICE tourism promoting organisations will be invited to know about the international standard convention and post-convention avenues available in the state. Shah also uprised that Kashmir’s summer is the best in the country to experience leisure activities in the form of shopping, cuisine, sightseeing, rafting among others.