Srinagar: Once bustling with foreign tourists, Kashmir is failing to woo foreigners courtesy of adverse travel advisories and COVID. Though the number of foreigners visiting Kashmir has witnessed a continuous dip, in the last three years there has been a sharp decline.
As per the official figures, in 2019. 33,779 foreign tourists visited Kashmir, the number plummeted to 3897 in 2020 due to COVID and further declined to 1615.
Till the end of February this year, over 500 foreign tourists have visited Kashmir. However, in comparison to the percentage of foreign tourists visiting Kashmir, there has been a continuous decline.
The genesis of the decline as per tourism stakeholders lies with the fact that the majority of European countries, the USA etc have imposed adverse travel advisories to their citizens against visiting Kashmir, which implies it creates a bad name and people shy to travel to this part of the world.
The irony is that Bihar attracts 10 times more foreign tourists than Kashmir, though Kashmir is known to be a beautiful travel destination across the globe.
Chairman, Jammu and Kashmir Hoteliers Club, Mushtaq Chaya said that though domestic tourists are visiting Kashmir in good numbers, adverse travel advisories are marrying Kashmir’s prospect of hosting foreign travellers.
“We have taken up the issue with the central government and we are hopeful that they will take up this issue. Further, the visit of foreign investors is a good sign which will send a positive sign across the globe and dispel notions among foreigners about Kashmir.”
“In last two years, COVID restrictions played a spoilsport, but by large foreign tourists percentage in total tourist footfall in Kashmir has been witnessing a decline which is mainly due to travel advisories,” he said.
On Contrary, domestic tourists are visiting Kashmir in large numbers post lifting of COVID restrictions, in March alone over 1.7 lakh tourists visited Kashmir which is by far the highest number of footfalls recorded in a month in over a decade.
Beautiful locales, a serene environment once used to attract a horde of backpackers to Kashmir from foreign countries but the post-1990s and resultant conflict situation resulted in adverse travel advisories by various countries to their citizens advising them against a visit to this state. However, despite the improvement in the situation, the negative travel advisories continue to mar Kashmir’s tourism sector.
Explaining the impact of these advisories, another tourism player, Fayaz Ahmad said that if the government of any country imposes a negative travel advisory then the citizens of that particular country will not be covered under insurance cover. “Besides, it creates fear psychosis among the intending visitors,” he added.
A senior tourism official told Greater Kashmir that the JK government has a limited role in getting the travel advisories lifted by foreign countries. “However we are pursuing our case in the central government and have also sought the help of the external affairs ministry.”