Srinagar: As the tourism sector continues to slump after the Pahalgam attack, the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) is launching a ‘Rally for Valley’ campaign across the country to convey the “Kashmir is safe” message and revive tourism in the Kashmir valley.
The Pahalgam terrorist attack on tourists on April 22, which left 25 tourists and a local resident dead, has dealt a blow to the tourism sector, which was brimming with visitor footfalls from the last three years. Hotels and restaurants are empty in tourist destinations of the Valley that have hit the livelihood and daily earnings of the people who are dependent on the sector.
Tourism stakeholders in Kashmir and other parts of the country are making efforts to revive the sector by conducting roadshows, rallies and FAM tours to entice tourists. Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) is launching a country-wide campaign- ' Rally for Valley’ to “bring back” tourists to Kashmir.
Sunil Kumar, president of Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), said that 2,500 members of the association will launch a ‘Rally for Valley’ campaign across the country to revive tourism in Kashmir, which was hit after the Pahalgam attack.
“There is fear among the people (after the Pahalgam attack). We are trying to address that fear, which has gripped people. The Government and Home Ministry must protect people who are coming to Kashmir,” Kumar said. He said a group of 75 members from TAAI have arrived in Kashmir for a three-day visit. Some have brought families, he said, which will boost confidence among the people to travel to Kashmir.
“We are conducting ‘Rally for Valley’ across the country to promote tourism in Kashmir. We will be able to get tourism back in Kashmir. We want to tell the world that Kashmir is safe,” he said.
Earlier, the tourism stakeholders of Kashmir held a roadshow from Dal Lake to Pahalgam, followed by a FAM tour by hoteliers and tour operators from the country from Srinagar to Pahalgam. The Jammu and Kashmir government, led by Omar Abdullah, also held cabinet and official meetings in Pahalgam and Gulmarg to bring confidence among the locals and the tourists.
In all, 1,000 participants of the Indian Tourist Transport Association are planning a three-day tour to the Valley as a confidence-building measure. “We will come to Kashmir to prove to tourists that Kashmir is safe; there is no alarming situation, and everything is under control. This will send a signal to tourists across the world that the transporters who ferry tourists have themselves travelled Kashmir and found it safe,” Indian Tourist Transport Association Honorary Secretary Kanwarjit Singh Sawhney had told ETV Bharat in May.
