Srinagar: Union Minister for Tourism and Culture and Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), G Kishan Reddy, today reaffirmed the commitment of the Government of India towards the promotion Jammu and Kashmir Tourism and rich cultural heritage worldwide.
The Minister stated this while holding an interactive session with tour operators and various stakeholders associated with the tourism sector of Jammu and Kashmir along with the Department of Tourism at SKICC here.
Earlier today morning, Reddy arrived here as part of GoI’s public outreach programme to J&K. On his arrival, the Minister visited the Tourist Facilitation Centre and J&K Tourism Information Centre.
During his interaction with different tourism players from Kashmir, Reddy discussed various avenues pertinent to tourism in the region of J&K and highlighted the importance of promotion and campaigning of J&K as a tourism destination in India and across the globe, and said that the Central Government will do everything in their domain to brand the region as an international tourist destination.
During the session, different stakeholders including tourist trade and travel, houseboat association, shikarawalas, hoteliers among others put forth their demands and issues before the Minister.
Among other issues, the tourism stakeholders sought direct flights from different cities of the country including Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai to Srinagar. They also demanded insurance cover in case of losses, development of new and virgin tourist destinations, better mobile connectivity at tourism places, renovation of old hotels at tourism destinations like Pahalgam, Gulmarg among others.
The Minister gave a patient hearing to the tourism stakeholders and assured them that all their genuine issues would be taken up at the Central Government level for early resolution.
While speaking on the occasion, Reddy said that the Central Government is doing every bit to bring J&K back on the tourism map and make it the number one tourist destination among travelers, tourists, visitors once again.
He informed the meeting that the Government of India along with UT government is putting in serious efforts to bring Mughal Gardens of J&K on UNESCO Heritage map so that these places would get international recognition to help in increasing tourist footfall from other countries.
He said that J&K being a tourism state remains top priority for Prime Minister Narendra Modi who always pushes his Cabinet for the development of J&K.
Earlier, the Minister presided over a meeting with the Department of Tourism J&K, J&K Academy of Arts, Culture & Languages, Department of Archives, Archeology & Museums, Archeological Survey of India, heads of different development authorities and other concerned.
The Minister reviewed the progress of tourism development projects supported by the Union Government for the UT.
The meeting was attended by Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, Baseer Ahmad Khan; Additional Director General at Ministry of Tourism, GoI, Rupinder Brar; Secretary Tourism & Culture, Sarmad Hafeez, Secretary Director, Archives, Archaeology, and Museums, Rahul Pandey; Director Tourism Kashmir, Dr GN Itoo, officers from ASI, and other concerned.
