Tag: Jammu and Kashmir

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday inaugurated a Houseboat Festival organised by the Department of Tourism of Jammu and Kashmir at the famous Dal Lake here, officials said. The minister also witnessed a musical fountain and laser show, that, he said, was “a mesmerising experience”. The Houseboat Festival has been organised as part of the ‘Iconic Week’ festival celebrating the spirit of Jammu and Kashmir, the officials said. Shah was accompanied by Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh. Later, Shah took to Twitter to share pictures of ... Read more

Deepika Kumari Sharma, Director, Jammu and Kashmir Tourism, discussed the Challenges and Way Forward, of Jammu and Kashmir Tourism at the Tourism Minister’s Conference held today at The Leela Raviz Kovalam, Thiruvananthapuram. She pointed out that the ethnic cleansing in Kashmir, targeted abduction of foreigners, disruption of life, destruction of properties and facilities and administrative machinery supporting the sector coming to a halt are the circumstantial issues affecting J & K Tourism. Deepika Kumari also said that ignorance of audience unaddressed, corruption, general neglect and apathy are the systemic issues affecting J & K tourism. “Lack of quality infrastructure, good ... Read more

Asia’s largest Tulip garden is open on the banks of the iconic Dal lake in the Kashmir valley. The floriculture department has planted 12.25 lakh Tulip bulbs of 40 varieties and colours in the 10-hectares garden. Around 20 per cent bloom was recorded on its opening day. This year, visitors can access Wi-Fi at no cost among other facilities. “We have added more green spaces inside the garden so that visitors can rest and enjoy the beauty of flowers,” Director at the Floriculture department Mathoora Masoom said. This season, 40,000 Hyacinth bulbs have been planted in a separate terrace and the department ... Read more

The tourism industry of Kashmir has been suffering great loses post Pulwama attack owing to ‘negative publicity’. To counter this and clear apprehensions of people in other states about visiting Kashmir, the state government of Jammu and Kashmir is all set to launch a tourism promotional campaign from March 25 with an aim to lure visitors. Tourism department, along with other stakeholders including representatives of tourism trade fraternity from all the three regions—Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, has decided to launch a sustained campaign to promote Kashmir’s tourism in other states in a meeting on March 16. The campaign will be kick ... Read more

The Government of Canada has issued travel advisories for India and Pakistan due to the continuing threat of terrorist attacks throughout the country at all times. “Travellers should exercise a high degree of caution in India due to a continuing threat of terrorist attacks throughout the country at all times,” reads the Indian advisory. The advisory also warns to avoid all non-essential travel to parts of Northeastern India, and to avoid all travel to areas near the western border with Bangladesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Canadians are also advised to avoid all travel in areas bordering Pakistan. The advisory for Pakistan asks to ... Read more

The Oman Embassy in Delhi has issued an advisory for its citizens who plan to travel to India in the coming days due to the developments unfolding in Jammu and Kashmir. The embassy has asked citizens to avoid not to travel to Jammu and Kashmir until the situation in the region stabilizes and until further notice. “Due to the events taking place in the State of Jammu and Kashmir in the friendly Republic of India, the Embassy of the Sultanate of Oman in New Delhi calls upon the dear citizens not to travel to those areas at the present time until ... Read more

Sarovar Hotels and Resorts said the group is expanding its footprint in Jammu and Kashmir with signing of an agreement with a new hotel, Viraj Sarovar Portico, in Jammu. The 45-room hotel will become operational in mid-2019 and will be Sarovar’s second hotel in the state after RK Sarovar Portico in Srinagar, the company said in a statement. Viraj Sarovar Portico, Jammu, is strategically located in the epicenter of corporate, educational & industrial areas of Bari Brahmana. The hotel is in close proximity to Jammu Airport and railway station. The hotel will offer 45 rooms with contemporary amenities and extensive ... Read more

Kashmir has reportedly witnessed the lowest ever tourist footfall in the last seven years, recording only 8.5 lakh domestic and foreign tourists visiting the valley in total in 2018. The record shows a decline of about 23 per cent from 2017, which saw around 11 lakh tourists visitors to Kashmir. The recent parliamentary panel report has blamed the GST implementation for ‘negative impact’ on tourism sector in Kashmir. “The decline in the number of tourists to Kashmir is because of the uncertainty projected by electronic media around the country. The smallest of incidents in the remotest part of the state is being highlighted ... Read more

As per a recent report by a parliamentary panel, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) introduced by the Center has a negative impact on the tourism sector of Jammu and Kashmir. The panel suggests reconsidering the indirect tax system in the tourism related activities of the state. The committee was headed by Rajya Sabha member Kanwar Deep Singh, who expressed concern at the declining tourism in the picturesque State, has asked the Government to hold talks with the countries which have issued advisories against travel to J&K. “It (GST) must be done in a cautious and phased manner in order ... Read more

The Jammu and Kashmir government has ordered to constitute an official panel to screen and identify new tourism projects in the state under the Prime Minister’s Development Package. (PMDP). The members of the committee include administrative secretary forest, environment & ecology department, administrative secretary, tourism department and tourism directors for Kashmir and Jammu divisions. As per the order issued by the general administration department (GAD), the committee shall be headed by the administrative secretary, planning, development and monitoring department. An official spokesperson said in Jammu on Tuesday that the State Administrative Council (SAC) under the chairmanship of Governor Satya Pal ... Read more

As part of the incessant efforts of the state to lure tourists to the valley, the Kashmir tourism department has held road shows at Moscow and St Petersburg. Tasaduq Jeelani, Director Tourism, Kashmir, said that the responses from the tour operators were positive. “I personally talked to the heads of the travel trade from Moscow and St Petersburg, who assured that they would send groups to Jammu and Kashmir for holidays, especially for adventure and heritage tourism,” said Jeelani. Other than presentations, showcasing Jammu and Kashmir’s diverse culture, art and craft, breath-taking beauty of Kashir; few short films highlighting the ... Read more

The Department of Tourism Studies, Central University of Kashmir (CUK) celebrated “World Tourism Day” on 27th September 2018 at Gulmarg. The theme of this year’s World Tourism Day was ‘Tourism and Digital Transformation’. While addressing the gathering,  Syed Haneef Balkhi, Chief Executive Officer, Gulmarg Development Authority, congratulated the Department of Tourism Studies for celebrating the day at Gulmarg. He said the GDA is making tireless efforts to make Gulmarg polythene and garbage free. “We have established two waste treatment plants and the trash collected from the hotels and dustbins are treated there only. We are taking due care for environmental ... Read more

With an aim to facilitate adventure tourism in the state, the Jammu and Kashmir Government is in the process of framing guidelines for adventure activities being carried out by various agencies in the state. The guidelines envisage registration of the adventure tour operators, granting them proper permission for carrying out adventure activities, minimum requirements needed including equipment, safety norms, dos and don’ts for any agency to conduct such adventure activities in the state. “J&K has huge potential in adventure tourism and many domestic and international tourists visit the state for adventure activities, “but unlike other states we never had adventure ... Read more

A short film on Jammu and Kashmir tourism, titled “Warmest Place on Earth” has won “gold” at an award ceremony organised by the India chapter of International Advertising Association (IAA). The ad film launched by the state’s Tourism Department in September 2017 has been declared the winner in the ‘Travel and Tourism Category’ at IndiAA awards held in Mumbai on Friday. The film highlights the hospitality of Kashmir. The 5-minute film was the first such big campaign launched by the Kashmir government. Conceptualised by J Walter Thompson, the film was directed by filmmaker Amit Sharma. The lyrics of the background song in the ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: J&K Tourism The state tourism department is planning to conduct country-wide promotional campaign to attract more tourists to the Jammu and Kashmir. The department said it will also focus on attracting foreign tourists from Southeast Asian countries and Bangladesh, from where the footfall has witnessed a steep rise in the recent past. The move to launch promotional campaign were declared by Tourism Director, Tasaduq Jeelani during a meeting with tour operators, houseboat owners and hoteliers held in Srinagar recently. “The department is planning to participate in travel shows in Surat, Pune, Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Ahmadabad and Kolkata to tap ... Read more