Mufti wants to promote Gulmarg as India's Davos

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today said he has a vision to promote Gulmarg as India's Davos where country's top business and policymakers can hold annual summits.
"Gulmarg is a world-famous tourist destination. We have state-of-the-art cable car, high-end hotels, skiing and heli-skiing activities and great road connectivity. I wish we host Indian Davos at Gulmarg," Sayeed said during an interactive session with prominent tour and travel operators of the country here.
Drawing a parallel between Davos in Switzerland, which holds annual summits of World Economic Forum (WEF), and Gulmarg, Sayeed said the Valley's premier resort has all the required paraphernalia to host the countries business and policymakers for similar economic summits.

Unveiling his plans to reposition Jammu and Kashmir as country's top tourist and all-season destination, Sayeed sought cooperation from all to change the course of the state and remove the trust deficit.
Terming the tour operators as the lifeline of JK Tourism, the Chief Minister also sought support of all behind-the-scene players to restore it to its original glory of being country's top tourist destination.
He said the tourism sector had drifted away and with able support from premier tour operators of the country, it will be paddled back to the shores of its brilliant past.

"J&K, right through the sixties to late eighties, remained country's premier film shooting and nature tourism destination," he added.

He said besides the huge influx of pilgrim tourists to Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine at Katra, steps have been taken to promote Jammu as an independent tourist destination.
"We can have travel and trade conferences at Patnitop and Bhaderwah. Jammu has a rich cultural history, a piece of which I saw for myself few days back when I visited Mubarak Mandi Heritage Complex few days back," he said describing the state as a bouquet of three distinct cultures that comes on one platter.