Tourists skip Kashmir for Kerala and Thailand amid ongoing tensions

Tourists are canceling or deferring leisure trips to Jammu & Kashmir in view of the current situation in the region. Travel companies, however, are hopeful that the tension will be short-lived and expect tourists to return to the Valley in the next few months.  “We have postponed our Kashmir tour in August. The affected customers are also being offered alternative destinations and some are opting to travel to Kerala, Kullu-Manali and Thailand,” said Veena Patil, managing director of Veena World. “We have seen 30 per cent increase in cancellations by travellers heading to Srinagar, Gulmarg, Pahalgam and other parts of Kashmir Valley in the last three days,” said Aloke Bajpai, CEO and co-founder of ixigo. “The situation in Kashmir will have a short to medium term impact on travel to the Valley,” said Sharat Dhall, COO (B2C), yatra.com.