“Kashmir has always been more than a mere place. It has the quality of an experience, or a state of mind, or perhaps an ideal.” (Jan Morris)

Kashmir is not just a place but an emotion that every person wants to experience. The surreal beauty of this gorgeous paradise has been defined by several poets, authors and philosophers. With the gushing rivers, shiny waterfalls, picturesque surroundings and the lush green forests, it has always appealed to tourists despite the turbulence of militancy since late 80s. Amir Khusro’s famous quote on Kashmir "Gar Bar-ru-e-Zamin Ast; Hamin Ast, Hamin Ast Hamin Ast" (If there is heaven on earth, it is here…it is here…it is here) justifies the splendour of this place in the most perfect way. It is no wonder then that tourism has been synonymous with Kashmir since time immemorial. The heart capturing lush green scenery, snowy peaks, exciting variety of flora and fauna, network of streams and rivers, unique craftmanship and invigorating climate of the Northern most Union territory of India has always appealed to tourists both artist and layman alike.
World Tourism Day is celebrated across the globe on 27th September every year. Globally, tourism has been a major source of economic development in the recent past. It has surfaced as one of the rapidly growing segments generating about 8.7% of employment worldwide and contributing about 9% to global GDP.The valley of Kashmir has always attracted many domestic tourists and a fair proportion of foreign tourists as well. Tourism industry in Kashmir has had a significant impact on the fortunes of the region and has grown significantly resulting in upliftment of local service industry. These included hospitality, transport, handicrafts, horticulture, retail outlets and other small-scale sectors. It thus provided immense potential for enhancing the infrastructural development and generation of employment opportunities.
\Dedicated efforts towards development of infrastructure including national highways, airports, rail network and tourist amenities have played a major role in enhancing tourist prospects of the region. However, these efforts were thwarted due to the political developments during the 90s. The violent protests by the separatists and the influx of militancy diminished the growth of tourism industry and eroded employment opportunities during that decade. The armed insurgency that followed has hit the tourism sector hard causing the loss of tourist appetite for this destination. According to an estimate, the region lost 27 million tourists from 1989-2010 leading to tourism revenue loss of approximately four billion dollars. Relative peace and stability post 2010 saw an increased influx of tourists during the period from 2010 to 2014 surpassing all previous milestones in the form of tourist and pilgrim arrivals as well as a threefold increase in the revenue generated by the industry. In 2014, tourism accounted for 7% of state’s GDP according to government figures. Unfortunately, this upward turn of events was short lived with valley witnessing increased incidents of violence and agitation dynamics from 2016 onwards. Kashmir was no more an attractive proposition to the average tourist and the revenues generated by the industry plummeted abysmally by 2017. Abrogation of Articles 370 and 35 A and the subsequent lockdown brought the tourism in Valley to a grinding halt. With COVID 19 pandemic wreaking havoc, tourism industry globally took a massive hit with Kashmir being no exception. Despite the setbacks, creation of Union Territories and the subsequent efforts to provide impetus to developmental activities in the region, especially basic infrastructure, has provided a much-needed fillip to the tourism sector. Overall reduction in militant activities and downfall in recruitment of new militants paved the way for a new ray of hope once again in the Kashmir valley as far as tourism sector is concerned. According to an estimate, tourism in J&K can generate two million jobs and has the capability to provide five million jobs by 2025.

Tourism Industry: Prospects and Possibilities in Kashmir

Tourism in Kashmir offers a wide array of options for the traveller. The union territory is bestowed with lush green landscape, natural lakes, fresh waters, beautiful valleys, snow-capped peaks, invigorating climate, archaeological, historical, cultural and religious monuments and last but not the least the Kashmiriyat of local “populace ” with its harmonious blend of art , religion and philosophy. J&K as a tourist destination region has vast amount of potential for adventure tourism, pilgrimage tourism, heritage tourism as well as leisure and eco-tourism.Main destinations in Kashmir include Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Dal Lake, Sonamarg, Yousmarg, Kokarnag, Wullar Lake, Aharbal, Mughal Gardens, Nishat Gardens, Martand Sun Temple, Pari Mahal and Amarnath cave.
The growth of tourism in Jammu & Kashmir shows that while the industry has registered an all-round substantial development during the last two-three decades, most of the potential, for its growth has not yet been exploited and much more is left to be desired. The limited, and rather unsatisfactory, growth of this sector in the state has been due to several problems it is beset with and various difficulties it has been facing including militancy and security, support infrastructure including connectivity and transportation facilities, lack of basic amenities, non-standardization of rates and fares, lack of sound marketing and promotion strategies, poor maintenance of heritage sites and overall poor administration and management.

Reviving Tourism Industry in Kashmir

To revive tourism industry in Kashmir major steps that are to be initiated including development of a strong network amongst various agencies, which would work towards remarketing the Kashmir tourism on modern basis, identifying new tourist spots to enhance tourism potential, provision of security, shifting tourism from being a seasonal commotion to all year around activity, development of pilgrimage, heritage and adventure tourism in the region, training and development programs for creation of local skills inventory, developing tourism infrastructure and initiating a sensitization program for community participation in tourism activities.

Rail Tourism

Tourism and transport are totally interlinked and are one of the fastest-growing economic sectors in the world. Tourist railways is an attractive option which can contribute to sustainable development, as well as it appeals to all types of customers, from the young to retirees and families. Tourist train is a rail operated museum-style attraction to see, dine, sleep and for entertainment purpose.Tourist trains are distinguished by various factors including deployment of historic and non-standard rolling stock, luxurious and expensive journeys and slower journeys for sightseeing .
Indian railway is countries largest national undertaking and it is one of the largest railway networks in the world comprising 92,081 km of track over a route of 66,687 km and 7,216 stations. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation is a subsidiary of the Indian Railways that handles the catering, tourism and online ticketing operations of the rail tourism. Indian Railways encourages tourism by offering different promotional schemes like tour packages in special trains, charter trains and in luxurious trains. Existing Range of IRCTC Tourism Products are mainly Rail Tour Packages, Bharat Darshan and Educational Tours. Some of the highlights of rail tourism in India.
Palace on Wheels, it is India’s first pan-country super luxury train.
The Golden Chariotstarted by the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation to cover popular tourist spots in South India.
Royal Rajasthan on Wheels, is a super luxury train service covering tourist destinations of Rajasthan and Agra.
The Deccan Odyssey, a 5-star hotel on wheels covering the tourist destinations of Maharashtra and enhancing tourism prospects of the Konkan route.(To Be Continued)