Srinagar: The 31- member Parliamentary delegation Thursday visited the famous ski-resort Gulmarg in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district to take stock of the tourism activities and to meet hoteliers, tour operators and the picturesque tourist destination.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee along with the top officials of the Tourism Department including the Principal Secretary Tourism Sarmad Hafeez met the Hoteliers in Gulmarg to have an on the spot assessment of the Tourism facilities, infrastructure and problems being faced by the tour operators.
“We have presented a five-point memorandum to the delegation. We expressed our concerns and put forth demands before the delegation which included the extension of lease agreements to the hotelier whose leases have expired,” Secretary General Hoteliers Club Gulmarg, Tariq Gani said.
While raising the issue of Srinagar-Jammu National Highway Hoteliers club Kashmir apprised the delegation about the frequent closure of the highway and the toll it is taking on the tourism.
” Frequent closure of Highway leads to the problems for Tourism Industry, as most of the domestic Tourists prefer to come by road, we also demanded the night landing at Srinagar International Airport”, Gani said.
“Post Abrogation of Article 370 & 35A and then Covid-19 lockdown hit the Tourism industry badly, we have demanded the relaxation in GST for next five years, financial assistance so that we can review our business which has suffered a lot.”
Gani said: “We have also demanded the enhancement in the budget for Tourism promotions along with that we should also be allowed for necessary renovations and repairs for our properties.” A presentation was also given by the Tourism Department where they exhibited the potential of Tourism in Gulmarg.
Pertinent to mention the visiting Parliamentary standing committee which is headed by Rajya Sabha MP from Madhya Pradesh T G Venkatesh met with various stakeholders on issues related to Road, Travel, Tourism and Hospitality sectors in valley.—(KNO)
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