MARDID:- The Jammu and Kashmir government has requested the Government of Spain to lift the negative travel advisory issued to its citizens against visiting the State as the situation here has improved considerably.
The request to lift the advisory was made by state Tourism Minister Ghulam Ahmad Mir during his meeting with Spanish Tourism Officers here on Friday.
The Minister during his meetings and interaction received positive response from the Spanish functionaries and hoped that government of Spain would also lift the negative travel advisory and allow its citizens to visit and avail holidays in mesmerizing tourist destination of the State.
The Tourism Minister along with the officers of Tourism Department is on the 4-day visit of Spain, where they represent the State in International Trade and Travel Event to showcase the world famous tourism potential of the Jammu and Kashmir.
The State government has installed various stalls depicting varied tourism potential of all the regions of the State, besides publicity counters to familiarize the participants about serene beauty of spots, besides adventure, heritage and spiritual tourism of Jammu and Kashmir.
The delegation will also utilize the trip as promotional campaign in the cities of Spain and motivate Spanish people about the innovative measures taken by the State government for developing new destinations like Yousmarg, Doodpatheri, Lolab- Bangus valley, Mughal road etc., besides creating of world class tourism infrastructure with focus on development of new attraction like gondola riding and eco- tourism.
Mir told the Spanish officials that Germany and UK have already lifted its similar travel advisory against Jammu and Kashmir following which a large number of foreign tourists have visited the State this year.
The Minister said lifting of the negative travel advisory by Spain shall also attract tourists from Commonwealth countries like Australia, Newzeland and Canada to visit Kashmir
He hoped this year the State would witness a big boom of domestic and foreign tourists. He said that
“Tourism is the mainstay of our state’s economy and the government has launched a vigorous tourism promotion campaign in the country as well as in overseas countries.
The J&K Tourism Minister said the Spain is known for its romantic flavor and Kashmir is the destination for romance. We offer a beautiful blend of natural beauty and hospitality. Kashmir has lots of adventure activities in winter whereas Gulmarg is one of the key destinations offering Skiing, Heli-skiing, 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, he said.
Mir said that Spain is culturally a rich country and India is rich in art, culture and heritage. In this perspective, if I talk about Kashmir it is culturally and spiritually a very rich place which has been a blend of different cultures whether it is Buddhism, Sufism or Shivism — so Kashmir has been the center for Spiritual learning, he added.
The Minister assured Spanish functionaries 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 appealed.
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