Apni Party senior Vice President Ghulam Hassan Mir on Friday asked the government to take pro-active measures to revive and promote winter tourism in J&K.
Mir said there were lakhs of families directly or indirectly associated with the tourism industry especially in Kashmir, who have suffered a huge blow to their livelihood since August last year.
He emphasized on the government to take measures in order to re-create an environment that will regenerate and increment the economic avenues for such families whose livelihood solely depends on the tourism sector.
Mir urged the Lt Governor Manoj Sinha to take stock and order for administrative measures that can promote winter tourism in the world-famous tourist destinations across Kashmir.
“It is not only about world-famous tourist resorts like Gulmarag, Pahalgam and Sonamarg, but in Jammu and Kashmir there are a number of other unexplored tourist destinations wherein tourism activities especially related to winter games can be promoted so as to address the distressed economic conditions of the families associated with this sector,” he said.
Mir said this way the government will not only cater to the livelihood of thousands of unemployed youth but it can also reboot the closed hotel industry, houseboat units and business of Shikarwals.
He urged the Union Ministry of Tourism to take steps that can revive the economically shattered tourism trade in J&K. “The Union government should take notice of the dismal scenario in which the tourism industry has been operating in Kashmir for decades, especially for the last over one year.