JAMMU:- The Jammu and Kashmir Government is working to promote tourism potential of the state and invite attention of foreign tourists to visit the State. This was stated by Minister for Tourism, Ghulam Ahmad Mir while attending the four day long international tourism and trade fair in Madrid, Spain. He represented the State in the fair.
Our focus is to lift travel advisories on Kashmir and attract more foreign tourists here, he said and added that Germany and Britain have already lifted negative travel advisories and hoped that Spain would also allow its citizens to the visit Jammu and Kashmir.
The Minister said that we are here at a promotional campaign and have set up several stalls and publicity counters to showcase the varied tourism potential of all the regions of the State, Mr. Mir said and added that good response has been received from Spanish in the mart. He said during the event days our utmost efforts are to conveyance the Spanish government that Jammu and Kashmir is as safe as other destinations of the world for the tourists.
The Minister while interacting with tourism players and Spanish officials apprised them that Jammu and Kashmir government is specially focusing on promoting tourism in the state. We have not only developed new tourism spots but upgraded world class infrastructure facilities for the tourist at the world famous destinations of the State, besides creating new attractions of adventure, heritage and eco-tourism as well as leisure tourism, he informed and added that unfortunately, Jammu and Kashmir has passed through hard times during past, but the resilience of the people of Kashmir has helped the tourism picking up in the State.
Minister for Tourism informed Spanish officials about the vast tourism potential of Jammu & Kashmir for leisure, adventure and spiritual pursuits. He further informed them about the diversity of terrain and culture which is experienced by a tourist while he plans holiday options in the State.
He said Kashmir has lots of adventure activities in winter, where in Gulmarg is one of the key destinations offering Skiing, Heliskiing, Gondola and many more. Similarly for spring, we are blessed with flowers and one of the major attractions is the Tulip garden in spring at Srinagar.
For those who want to beat the heat, Kashmir can offer you more than required in summers.
While mentioning about local art and craft, Minister informed them that the in arts and crafts, nature has blessed us in this sphere uniquely and our craftsmen have shown their talent and intellect superbly over centuries now. Whether it is wood carving, Papier-mâché, Pashmina shawls, Sozni or any other form of art, Kashmir is rich. Regarding the agricultural and horticultural produce we have world renowned Saffron, Walnuts, apple, Almond, Flowers, Medicinal plants and what not. These days we are having great demand for Agri- tourism from various countries.
While mentioning Ladakh, the Minister described it as being another diverse form of our state is known as the Moon Land. He said Ladakh is known for its lakes like Pangong and Tso morori, it is also known for its Buddhist monasteries, rich Buddhist culture, trekking passes and adventure motorsports.
The Minister described Jammu as city of temples and as the region famous for Mata Vaishno Devi shrine, adventure tourism like paragliding, Rafting and Mountaineering. It is blessed with lakes like Surinsar and Mansar, while in R. S. Pura sector one can see beautiful collection of various species of migratory birds.
While commenting on travel advisories, the Minister said that unfortunately Kashmir was in news for last two decades for unfortunate reasons, but now all is well and we have huge number of foreign tourist arrivals in the state. Recently countries like Germany and UK lifted travel advisories. We have lots of tourists coming from south East Asia, Middle East, Europe and USA. Recently we had ambassadors from various countries for a Golf tournament in Kashmir, he added.
The Minister assured them all that Kashmir is as safe as Spain or for that matter any other country in Europe. We know that Tourism is one of the major binding forces for spreading friendship and uniting souls. All of us have to act as tourism ambassadors and try our best to unite those parts of the world which are still less connected, he said.
Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now
Be Part of Quality Journalism |
Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. |
| ACT NOW |
| MONTHLY | Rs 100 |  |
| YEARLY | Rs 1000 | |
| LIFETIME | Rs 10000 | |
