Hoteliers, houseboat and shikara operators happy as Kashmir sees surge in tourism

Hotel Paradise on Boulevard Road, said, “All our rooms are booked till next week right now.” “The rush in Srinagar will continue till the onset of harsh winters. However, many people come just to see snowfall, and Gulmarg resorts get totally sold out once snowfall begins. So if prior booking is not done, one won't be able to get a room there,” he said.
Gulmarg in Baramulla district is located about 50 km from Srinagar, and is known for its picturesque snow-clad landscape, skiing resorts and gondola ride. Ahmad says owners of hotels in Kashmir are really happy to see this revival of tourism.
At Dal Lake, tourists take shikara rides all day long, but the rush increases at evening time when they come to see sunset from the middle of the lake.
Saqib Shah, 23, a shikara operator, proudly showcases his neatly dressed yellow shikara ‘World Queen' at the banks of the lake, and beckons customers to take a ride.
“We have seen a very bad phase after the lockdown in Valley in 2019 post abrogation of Article 370, when all the hotels had become empty suddenly and Dal Lake stood deserted. Then tourism was heavily impacted due to Covid for two years. But, in 2022, especially in the last few months, there has been a surge in tourism. We are happy to see tourists again,” he said.
In a major intervention for the upliftment of the tourism sector in J-K, the Union government had made a record allocation of Rs 786 crore in the budget for the tourism sector there, which was Rs 509 crore higher than the last budgetary allocation, officials in Srinagar had said in February 2022.