Recently the State Tourism Department while celebrating the World Tourism Day arranged a panel discussion on the World Tourism Organisation’s theme for the current year, “A Billion Tourists, Billion Opportunities”! A number of travel industry representatives participated in the discussions on the topic. Most of the speakers were of the view that Kashmir is an ideal destination for the global high-end tourism. It was felt that for maximum economic benefits it is better to attract up market international and domestic high end tourism than to go for mass budget tourism.To protect the ecology and environment which in the first instance are the main attraction in case of Kashmir, one has to plan for “Sustainable Tourism”!
There are two main requirements for attracting high-end tourism apart from the basic necessity of peace. The first is the accessibility and second is the suitable infrastructure. Given that the ultimate peace in Kashmir may be a long distance away, we can still attract tourists provided we have the requisite facilities. The present global situation rarely affords total peace in any part of the world. In the given circumstances, the one kind of tourism which has extensive possibility in Kashmir is the adventure tourism. The adventure tourist is already prepared to face the nature’s hazards. Some man made hazards do not discourage him much! In the peak of militancy, Kashmir continued to host very high end adventure tourists from Europe and America for heli-skiing.
Then we need suitable infrastructure for high end tourists. They need high class accommodation and transport.
08/10/15 Mohammad Ashraf/Countercurrents.org
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There are two main requirements for attracting high-end tourism apart from the basic necessity of peace. The first is the accessibility and second is the suitable infrastructure. Given that the ultimate peace in Kashmir may be a long distance away, we can still attract tourists provided we have the requisite facilities. The present global situation rarely affords total peace in any part of the world. In the given circumstances, the one kind of tourism which has extensive possibility in Kashmir is the adventure tourism. The adventure tourist is already prepared to face the nature’s hazards. Some man made hazards do not discourage him much! In the peak of militancy, Kashmir continued to host very high end adventure tourists from Europe and America for heli-skiing.
Then we need suitable infrastructure for high end tourists. They need high class accommodation and transport.
08/10/15 Mohammad Ashraf/Countercurrents.org
