The prospect of the United States easing its travel advisory for Jammu and Kashmir has sparked fresh optimism among tourism stakeholders across the Union Territory, with the government, tourism department, hoteliers, travel and tour operators, and political parties welcoming what is seen as a positive signal for the region. The development is being viewed as a potential boost for Kashmir’s tourism sector, which stands to benefit from greater international confidence and an improved perception of peace and stability.
Today, it is a good thing if the US Ambassador says they will try and the travel advisories here will be lowered. There are many other countries from where travelers do not come much anymore; you only spot them very rarely. They come to India and then perhaps reach here somehow. No doubt, security reasons also need to be looked at, and it is a good thing that, for the first time, it appears they are being eased. We hope that in the coming times, these advisories will be lifted. Foreign tourists who come here to explore come to see something different. When they stopped coming, the entire tourism sector suffered. If this recent step has happened, I think it is a very good thing, and we hope that in the coming times, we will see advisories easing, especially boosting our upcoming winter tourism. Domestic tourists keep coming anyway; there is no doubt about that. Now, if foreign tourists are also added to that… for a long time, feeling like decades, that chunk of foreign tourists which used to come does not come anymore. It is a good thing; there will be a boom in tourism and relief in the tourism sector if these advisories are eased. Kashmir has witnessed a decline in the flow of international tourists over the three decades since terrorism broke out in Jammu and Kashmir. The Government of India and the Jammu and Kashmir administration are continuously trying to get foreign travel advisories revoked. The government now hopes that a possible easing of the US advisory could help change perceptions and encourage more travelers from different parts of the world to consider Kashmir a safe destination. It is not justified for travel advisories to be issued for any place, and the time has come for them to be downgraded. Obviously, if tourists start coming here, it gives overall confidence and builds courage for us to better promote our tourism. It also gives courage to travelers so they can come easily. Nowadays, there is no need for these restrictions anymore. We want tourism to be kept free from them, and as we always say, tourism and the situation here should not be linked. Tourism is one of our economic activities, just like horticulture, transport, and industry.”
Because these advisories—and the atmosphere created in foreign tourism because of them—are very damaging to us, this was also a long-pending request of ours to the government. Because they loved Kashmiri handicrafts, they used to come for our adventure sports, high-altitude lakes, Mahseer angling, bird watching, leisure, and especially.
Manzoor Pakhtoon, President of the Houseboat Association, said: “We feel this is a very welcome development as far as the travel advisories issued by Europe and the USA are concerned. Nasir Aslam Wani, Advisor to the Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir, said: “This is a great thing for us, a very good thing for our tourism, and a great thing for the image of Jammu and Kashmir.
Earlier, they used to come here for trekking, which almost all foreigners did. We have tried this before as well when Omar Sahab was previously in government; we had lowered the UK travel advisory, Germany had lifted its travel advisory at that time, and other countries had lifted theirs as well.
