Kuala Lumpur, Jul 7: Jammu and Kashmir is as safe as any other place in the world, Minister of State for Tourism and Culture Nasir Aslam Wani has said, as he wooed Malaysians to choose this picturesque state as their holiday destination.
 Wani, who was here on a road-show to showcase the tourism potential of Jammu and Kashmir, stressed that the state was as safe as any other place in the world and “tourists have never been a target”
 “....Whatever trouble there is localised,” he said. Wani said the state has many attractions for tourists.
 “Adventure sports, golfing, white water rafting are all of great interest to South East Asians and J&K has it all, we have four seasons and something on throughout the year,” Wani told PTI.
 Besides adventure sports, the state also offers religious tourism for the people of multi-religious Malaysia which besides the Muslims also has Hindus and Buddhists as part of its population.
 “There is Vaishno Devi for the Hindus, the Sufi Shrines in the valley for the Muslims and the monasteries in Ladakh for the Buddhists,” the road-show organisers said.
 Wani said that next year Gulmarg hoped to host an international ski meet. The town, renowned for its snow, may be visited by international ski federation members later this year for an inspection before a meet is announced.
 Wani said there were three world class courses at Srinagar, Gulmarg and Pahalgam. Southeast Asians especially Thais, Malaysians and Singaporeans are avid golfers.
 He said that 20 new tourist destinations had also been set up across the state and all the infrastructure was in place.

Lastupdate on : Thu, 7 Jul 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 7 Jul 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 8 Jul 2011 00:00:00 IST