Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Saturday that his government’s efforts to bring back tourism to the Union Territory can only work if the major tourist sites that were closed after the Pahalgam terror attack are opened again right away.
Abdullah told reporters that he disagreed with the decision to shut these historically open places. “First, we need to open up the sites that have been closed. In 35 years, we never closed these places. He said, “Drang or Doodhpathri were not closed, the upper areas of Gulmarg were not shut, and the Aru valley was not closed when the militancy was at its worst.”
The Chief Minister said that it takes “some courage” to uncover these places and tell the world about them.
Tourism is important Even if others have spoken bad things about it
Abdullah defended his government’s attempts to promote tourism in response to criticism from within that they were too focused on tourism. He said that it was necessary for the economy of the area.
“We are trying at our own level, even though people are making fun of us for promoting tourism so much,” he remarked. “We know that it affects the homes of millions of people, and we want tourism to return to the level it was at before the Pahalgam attack.”
Promoting the World and the Inside
Abdullah talked about the many things his government is doing to bring in tourists from other countries. He said that the central government is backing these efforts.
International Teams: His government has sent teams to other countries to promote tourism. One of these teams is currently in Singapore working to bring back tourists from Southeast Asia. More delegations are set to go to Berlin and London next month.
Domestic Outreach: Recently, Minister Nasir Aslam Wani went to Udaipur to promote things.
The Chief Minister said that even while there was outreach from outside, there was a big problem inside that was getting in the way of growth.
Abdullah said, “I can’t say that the Center hasn’t helped us, but the truth is that we’re talking in two voices from within J-K.” He said that the “unelected government” was wrong to keep a significant part of Kashmir inaccessible to tourists while the elected government was trying to get people to visit.
Abdullah came to the conclusion that the unwillingness to reopen well-known destinations like Doodhpathri, Drang, and sections of Gulmarg shows a fear of risk that keeps tourists from coming back.