Cut-Price Paradise

The government is trying to encourage tourism back into Kashmir "� but this time as a low-cost destination.

Any talk of tourism in Kashmir brings back memories of the beheading of Norwegian tourist Hans Christian in August 1995 and the kidnapping of four others, still missing and believed dead. Another incident like that could well rub Kashmir off tourist itineraries forever.

State tourism agencies and the government think otherwise. Over the past year or so, they have been steadily promoting Kashmir as a low-cost destination.

At one level this is understandable. Years of terrorism in the state have cut off one of the most lucrative tourism earners for the Indian government. Before the trouble started, the state played host to as many as seven lakh tourists, roughly five per cent of inbound inflows. Today, even with heavily discounted packages, only 26,000 tourists visited Kashmir.

Surprisingly, most of these are foreign tourists. The Indian tourist has prudently chosen to stay away. Perhaps keeping this fact in mind, the Association of Chambers of Commerce, an apex business body, is organising a three-day conference at Srinagar in January. This is aimed at wooing domestic tourists with the theme Back to paradise. It has the backing of chief minister Farouq Abdullah and the state tourism department. The strategy is simple: boost domestic tourism and foreign tourists will follow.

At the same time, the private sector has also decided that tourism in the valley is set for revival. Bharat Hotels Ltd, for instance, has decided to take over the Palace Hotel in Srinagar and invest Rs 100 crore. ITC Hotels has also decided to renovate and recommission Neodus. Packages to Srinagar can now be had for Rs 14,000 for a three-night stay.

Is this new-found attention to Kashmir wise? Brij Bhardwaj, a tourism expert, thinks so. Kashmir is a much safer place than Egypt, where 60 tourists were gunned down recently, and Sri Lanka. Kashmir has a good safety record barring the case of the four tourists who were kidnapped there, he says.

Not everyone is convinced. PL Worldways Limited, which organises tours for visitors from USA, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, does not include Kashmir in its itinerary. Clients who insist on visiting the state anyway have to give a written undertaking that the agency is not held responsible for their safety.