Now that Amarnath Yatra has concluded safely and smoothly, the focus of the governments, both in Srinagar and at New Delhi, should be the revival of tourism that got a huge blow on April 22 when 25 tourists and a local pony walla were killed in a terror attack in Baisaran meadow of Pahalgam. The terrorists didn’t only kill 26 innocent humans, they killed the dreams and hopes of lakhs of Kashmiris and destroyed their economy. Tourism may not be a big contributor to Kashmir’s economy but it undoubtedly contributes a lot and generates employment. As post 2019, Kashmir witnessed visible peace and violent attacks, strikes, stone pelting incidents almost vanished, tourism had started flourishing. Besides traditional hoteliers, houseboat owners, pony wallas, guides and others, the unemployed youth had started tourism related activities. In Srinagar as well as in the vicinities of Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Sonamarg, Doodhpathri and other tourist resorts, the youth had converted their homes into PGs and some had constructed small and medium guest houses offering tourists comfortable accommodation at cheaper rates. Hundreds of youths had purchased ATVs (All Terrain Vehicles) and were doing good businesses. This all came to a halt after Pahalgam attack as thousands of tourists fled from Kashmir just in two or three days. This was to happen as the perpetrators of the attack had done it for the same purpose. They knew that the economy of Kashmir had started bettering and because of tourist related activities, the unemployed were getting jobs, so they hit.
Now that the Amarnath Yatra has concluded, a message should go out that Kashmir is safe and Kashmiris are waiting for the tourists with open arms. All the Yatris, (as per official sources more than 4 lakh) should be the ambassadors of Kashmir and Kashmiris. They should tell their fellow countrymen about their experiences here, about the security scenario and about the warmth of Kashmiris. The governments should advertise Kashmir as a safe destination and invite people to visit here. However, before doing that, the government of the day here should reopen all the closed tourist destination thus boosting the confidence of both locals as well as intending tourists. As earlier noted in these columns, locals in Kashmir have a panicking culture. Instead of going to busy resorts like Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Sonamarg, they prefer less crowded places like Drang in Tangmarg, Doodhpathri and Yusmarg. All these places should be reopened. We are living in the world of social media, once these places bustle with activities, the reelds would go viral conveying to the countrymen that Kashmir is ready and safe for tourists. The government, those involved with the tourism industry in any capacity and the general public should work together to bring this industry back on rails. This is the opportune time.
