J&K Government offered concessions for Vaishno Devi pilgrims visiting Kashmir

Scoop News December 22, 2009

Katra-J&K, December 22(Vijay Kumar) - Jammu and Kashmir Government today offered certain concessions to such Vaishno Devi yatris who would extend their tour to the Kashmir Valley. The concessions include free entry tickets in Tulp Garden, SPS Museum, Zabarwan Park and Nagin Club in Srinagar, besides concessions on Gandola riding tickets at world famous ski resort, Gulmarg.

This announcement was made on Tuesday by the Minister for Tourism and Culture, Nawang Rigzin Jora while interacting with the representatives of various Tour and Travel Associations of the State during one-day interaction meet held at Katra.

The meet was organized by the State Tourism Department with the objective to share the ideas of tour and travel operators of both the regions for diverting more tourists to Kashmir Valley and other tourist destinations of Ladakh and Jammu regions.

The Minister said that JKTDC would ply two special bus services from Katra to Srinagar from April next year, adding that tour packages for Vaishno Devi yatris from Katra to Shivkhori and Sudmahadev holy pilgrim sites would also be started from the next week.

The Minister underscored the need for collateral and collaborative effort between the tourism and travel trad operators of both the Jammu and Kashmir regions to give boost to tourism in the State, adding that both the regions are inter-dependent. He said objective of this interaction is to bring synergy between the respective tourism fraternities so that there is over all increase in the inflow of tourists to all the regions of the State, adding it is an opportunate plate-form for all the stake-holders of tourism industry to sit together, share their common interests and get mutually benefited from each other.

Jora said that the Government has embarked upon a massive developmental programme for tourism in the State with many new and unexplored areas coming up on the tourism map. He said these new destinations are niche areas of attraction for the leisure lovers, the golfers, pilgrims and the heritage enthusiasts. From the mountains of Ladakh to the greenest Valleys of Kashmir and right up to the plains of Jammu, the State is now much more ready and fully equipped to receive tourists in large numbers, he said.

Appreciating the efforts of tour and travel operators of the State, the Minister said that they have contributed much in the revival of turmoil ravaged tourism industry in the State. He said this enduring relationship between State tourism department and tourism trade associations has yielded encouraging results in the past also and hoped further improvements in this relationship would help t o large number of tourist from across the world to Jammu and Kashmir.

The Minister said that the Government has taken various initiatives for holistic promotion of tourism which encompasses all the distinct regions of the State. “In Jammu we have great potential in pilgrim tourism while as in Ladakh, heritage and adventure tourism can be the unique selling proportions. In Kashmir, we have a complete package of all three distinct destinations which can be offered to the domestic as well as international visitors”, Jora added.

Referring to the great potential, the pilgrim tourism offers in Jammu, Jora said that even if 10 percent of the 80 lakh visitors are encouraged to visit tourist destinations in Kashmir, Bhadarwah, Surinsar, Mansar, Poonch, Rajouri and Basohli, it will spread yarn of tourism further in the region. He called upon tourism related associations to play their role in this regard.

Responding to the demands of tourism trade associations of Katra, the Minister assured them that the same would be addressed in right earnest.

Managing Director, JKTDC, Satish Nehru, Director Tourism Kashmir, Farooq Ahmad Shah, Director Tourism Jammu, S. M. Sahni, Chairman Tour & Travel Association Kashmir, Abdul Khalik Wangnoo, President Hotel and Restaurant Association Katra, S. L. Kasar, President Travel Agents Association Katra, Surinder Khajuria, President Travel Agents Association Jammu, Rajinder Kotwal and senior vice President Travel Agents Association of Kashmir, Nazir Ahmad Mir also shared their views on the occasion for promotion of tourism in the State.

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