J&K hospitality industry gearing up for better days

 

With a new government in the saddle in Jammu and Kashmir and Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed having retained the tourism portfolio, the state’s hospitality industry is gearing up for better days.

In recent years, many players had held back their investment plans in view of the near-stagnation in the state’s hospitality sector, despite an overall boom in the tourism sector in India.

Ahat Hotels and Resorts, which runs four properties in the state, is now building four more properties in the Kashmir valley, expecting that business is poised to grow.

Asif Burza, director of Ahat Hotels and Resorts, is aggressively pushing for a tie-up with five-star hotel chains to tap high-end tourists. “We need to restore faith among tourists and hard-sell the destination. The industry suffered a huge loss last year owing to flash floods and excess rain. We had almost a lean season from October to December in 2014. Untimely rain affected business in the last week of March this year as well, but now tourist footfalls are improving.”

The Kashmir valley received 11,71,130 tourists in 2013, down from 13,08,765 in 2012 and 1,314,432 in 2011.

With the demand for budget hotels growing while there is a shortfall in accommodation, many potential tourists travel to alternative destinations. The total room inventory in the organised sector in Kashmir valley is 7,500 and the total number of houseboats is about 1,200.

Hoteliers are also considering investing in resort tourism. The Grand Mumtaz Group of Hotels is setting up a resort on a 30-acre plot in Tangmarg near Gulmarg. Mushtaq Chaya, the chairman of the group, expects to add 300 rooms after the completion of three proposed projects in Sonmarg, Gulmarg and Srinagar, which are in various stages of execution.

Chaya is also chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Hoteliers’ Club, and believes the state will draw the largest number of tourists in coming years, with local hospitality players seeking to refurbish their existing properties and develop new ones to attract tourists from India and abroad.

“Looking at the potential, there is a need for a manifold increase in the number of rooms for tourists in the Kashmir valley. The state government is projecting an increase of over 10 per cent in tourist arrivals this year but it would be much larger,” said Girish Oberoi, secretary general of the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India.

In a meeting held on April 5 with the chief minister, the industry’s representatives discussed the challenge of reviving tourism in the state and suggested remedies. Air connectivity has been of utmost importance and the state government must take up the issue with the central government to allow night landing facilities at Srinagar Airport, which is partly controlled by the Indian Air Force. Owing to the fact that there are few flights, air fares go through the roof in peak season, making the destination unaffordable for many, Oberoi said.

Since outsiders cannot purchase land in the valley, small and medium-sized players have proposed that the state government give land on lease for building hotels. Budget hotels are in demand and the participation of small players would help make the market more competitive, he added.

Foreign tourist arrivals in Kashmir totalled just 50,000 in 2014, mainly owing to obsolete infrastructure and negative perceptions. “When unverified reports are published about natural calamities or the law and order situation in the valley, it has a deep effect on foreign and domestic tourists. The state government should rebuild the image of Kashmir as an incredible tourist destination,” Oberoi said.

Small and medium-sized hotels have immense potential for employment generation in the Kashmir valley. If the assurances given by the chief minister are acted upon, this will not only boost the travel and tourism business but also create jobs for semi-skilled workers, said a Confederation of Indian Industry member.