Srinagar: After being out of bounds for more than the last two years, owing to the outbreak of COVID-19, majestic Tulip Garden, overlooking the Dal Lake in the summer capital is scheduled to be thrown open for public on March 23. This is giving local tourism players a hope of a healthy start to the tourist season.
Most tour-trade players expressed optimism that with more than a million Tulip’s expected to bloom, the season this year will witness a sharp increase in footfalls.
It may be mentioned that more than 1.50 lakh to 2 lakh people visit the Tulip Garden every season. Among tourists who visited the garden to get mesmerised by the riot of colours spread over 360 kanals of land includes both domestic and international visitors.
Number of people visiting the garden is expected to witness an increase as the garden is being kept open till mid of April.
Among tourists visiting the Tulip garden to get mesmerised by the 50 varieties of 1.5 million flowers including Tulips spread over 360 kanals of land includes those from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, north India and several southern states, the official informed. Besides, a large number of locals are also expected to visit the Tulip garden.
In order to woo more tourists, a musical festival is organised at the garden every season. Illumination of the Tulip Garden helping to attract tourists to Tulip garden during evening hours has also been a success, officials said.
In order to woo more tourists, a 15 day long musical festival was organised by Cultural Academy at the garden two years back while visitors could also make purchases from multiple stalls erected inside the garden by JKTDC, Handicrafts Department and others.
The Tulip garden has 360 kanals under floriculture activities with Tulip as a major crop growing on seven hectares of land. In addition to Tulips, other bulbous material grown in the garden includes Hyacinths, Narcissus, Daffodils, Muscaria and Iris. Development of a water channel and a Japanese ornamental Cherry theme garden along with an avenue inside the garden have been some of the other attractions to woo tourists.
It may be mentioned that the Tulip Garden was judged among the “Top five tulip destinations” in the world by the World Tulip Summit Society during its summit held at Canada in 2017.
The Tulip Garden received this recognition after competing with 17 countries including US, Japan, Turkey , Holland, UK and China in the 7th World Tulip Summit that was held in Canada’s capital city Ottawa on October 7, 2017.
Earlier in 2015, the Tulip Garden was judged as the second best Tulip destination of the world by the same society held at an event in South Korea.