Last Updated on January 4, 2021 at 3:17 pm
The Tourism Department hosted a high-level meeting for celebrations of the New Year in Jammu and Kashmir, but its focus was limited only to the Valley. Official documents reveal that the Tourism department called for a meeting at TRC Srinagar for reviewing the preparations for these events in J&K but didn’t discuss prospective celebrations in Jammu.
Sources tell that no official from Jammu tourism attended the meeting even though the meeting had a focus on entire Union Territory and not Kashmir alone.
Top officials at the meeting urged others to work as a team in order to achieve goals. He said that they are witnessing sudden growth in the number of tourist arrivals this month. The early snowfall has boosted their efforts and Tourists are having a good time in Kashmir especially in the world-famous Ski resort of Gulmarg. The local Tourism stakeholders are also very excited for the return of tourists to normal levels and the department is making all possible efforts.
The officials who were present in the meeting were told about the preparations for the winter activities which are being organized in Gulmarg including the Ski courses being organized by the Directorate of Tourism, Kashmir and the Youth Services and Sports Department. The officials also took a look at the preparations for the upcoming Khelo India Winter Games which are scheduled to be organized in the month of February/March at Gulmarg.
A senior official asked if winter tourism can be promoted in Kashmir then why not in the other part of Union Territory? He said that there are many locations from Patnitop to Mansar Lake to numerous tourist spots in Jammu which are potential tourist attractions for New Year celebrations but the government never focuses on them. If Kashmir can be called a winter destination then Jammu should be called the same as most of the people from Kashmir love to be in Jammu during winters. He said the government must also pay attention to Jammu tourism.
Another senior official said the government was “planning” to hold New Year celebrations at Patnitop too.
