Srinagar: In order to send a message of unity, domestic tour operators from Maharashtra on Wednesday said they have decided not to cancel any bookings of tourists to the Kashmir valley in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack.
Terrorists opened fire in Pahalgam on Tuesday afternoon, killing 26 people, mostly tourists, in what is the deadliest attack in the valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019. The dead included two foreigners and as many locals.
“An emergency meeting of the Maharashtra Tour Operators Association was held in which we have unanimously decided that no one will cancel any tour,” Abhijeet Patil, chairman of Raja Rani Travels, one of the reputed travel agencies from Maharashtra, said here.
He was speaking at a joint press conference of leaders of several tourism and trade bodies after a condolence meeting.
Patil said the tour operators want to send a message to the forces who are trying to drive a wedge among the people.
“We will help the tourists in every possible way but we will not cancel any tours,” he added.
Patil, however, said Tuesday’s attack is a blot on humanity and “we stand together to condemn it”.
Another tour operator, Satishbhai Shah of Pooja Holidays, said the attack was not Kashmiriyat.
“There is no other example of hospitality in the world like that of the people of Kashmir. Few people executed yesterday’s incident but the hearts and doors of the people of Kashmir are always open. They will always show the same hospitality which they have for the last so many years,” Shah said.
He said the tour operators would continue to support tourism in Kashmir.
“We were running full bookings from February to June. We have always supported Kashmir be it after the Pulwama attack or the abrogation of Article 370,” he said.
J&K Hoteliers Club secretary general Tariq Ghani, while condemning the attack, said the valley tour operators share the grief of the families who lost their loved ones.
“The shutdown today has shown what Kashmiriyat is. No Kashmiri will do this. We are Muslims and Islam does not allow this,” he said.
Ghani appealed to the people of the country to visit the valley as guests.
“We have given free accommodation and food to the tourists because they are our guests. I appeal to the people across the country to visit Kashmir not as tourists but as guests. We will not do any business with you but we will be satisfied that the brotherhood is intact,” he said.
“We will not take a penny from you, come here and you will see how the people of Kashmir will welcome you with open hearts,” he added.
Ghani said the tourism and trade bodies were against those who are trying to drive a wedge between the people of Kashmir and the rest of the country.
“We boycott them,” he added.
He also appealed to the Union Home Minister Amit Shah to investigate the attack and make sure that the perpetrators are identified.
“It needs to be investigated why this episode took place, where was the security breach or lapse? Because such incidents defame Kashmiris and we do not want that,” he said.
Nageen Lake Traders Association (NATA) president Manzoor Ahmad Wangnoo termed the attack as “very unfortunate” and said the people of Kashmir did not do this and those who did it are not Kashmiris.
He, however, appealed that the incident should not be communalised.
“For God’s sake, do not give it a communal colour. Also keep politics aside from it. We have to stand together and do something to bring back tourists,” he said, adding, “We share the grief of the people who lost their loved ones”.
