As COVID cases go down, tourists slowly return to Kashmir

Cheaper hotels, pleasant weather are drawing tourists slowly back to the Valley even as tourism stakeholders advise people to visit post vaccination

Srinagar: The tourism and hospitality sector, which had picked up after last year's unlock, once again suffered a severe blow in the second wave. Kashmir's tourism industry was also badly hit. But now with cases again showing signs of diminishing, and with vaccination programmes going on, tourists are gradually returning to the Valley, thus making the stakeholders hopeful of a good summer. 

The government is now allowing all hill towns like Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Sonmarg to open up for tourism and making sure that all COVID protocols are followed. The hotels and houseboats around the Dal lake are also getting ready to welcome visitors. Tourists can be seen taking shikara rides around the lake and enjoying pleasant weather.  

To lure visitors back to the state, several discounts are being offered. Many hotels have slashed their prices by 50%.  "We have been here for the past 10 days and Srinagar is slowly opening up. The gardens are yet to be opened to the public. We could also travel to Gulmarg and Pahalgam, but the gondola ride wasn't operational when we visited a few days back. We also got to book rooms at hotels at half the price. Overall, it was a very nice experience, though many places of tourist attraction are yet to open,"says Rounak, a tourist from Mumbai. 

One thing that tourists are missing is the beautiful gardens. "If more and more people start visiting, I am sure the authorities will open up everything," says Forum R, a tourist. 

All the tourists arriving at the Valley are being asked for their vaccination certificates as well as the COVID-19 test results. Tourists have also been asked to make sure that they follow all the COVID protocol. "We got our RT-PCR test and  antigen test done, and all got all permission and epasses. It's a wonderful experience here and we are very excited to travel to Kashmir," says Manoj Kumar, a tourist from Rajasthan. Another tourist from the desert state, Sarvind Yadav shares, "'We started from Jaipur and we went to Leh and then, we came here. With COVID cases going down, it's good that the government is opening up tourism activities. Many people's livelihoods are dependent on this."

The lifting of restrictions in the Valley has brought smiles on the faces of tourism stakeholders. However, caution is required. As Abdul Razak, a shikara owner, points out, "Things are improving, but we have to win the war against the pandemic. We appeal to tourists to come here after being vaccinated, we won't allow them to take shikara rides without being vaccinated. We check the certificates first and then take them around. We have ourselves got vaccinated. Tourists should come and we are hopeful that they will. But we have to keep our distance, wash our hands frequently and follow all COVID protocols."