Kashmir sees big tourist influx

NT Correspondent

Srinagar: Kashmir has witnessed a high number of tourists this Christmas and is ready to welcome more people New Year’s eve, tourism officials said.

According to the J-K tourism department, the week-long celebrations that began on Saturday would culminate with New Year celebrations. A large number of tourists from various parts of the country as well as locals participated in the events organised on Christmas.

Director of Tourism Kashmir, Dr. G N Itoo, told NewsTrail on Sunday that the number of tourist arrivals this year is best as compared to previous years. “We have approximately 6,000 arrivals per day now. The tourist number was high for Christmas as compared to previous years and it is expected to be high for New Year celebration as well,” he said.

Major tourist destinations including Gulmarg and Pahalgam have been illuminated to give the places a festive look. He noted that the higher number of arrivals is the result of a vigorous campaign of the tourism department “included one-week iconic festivals held in October besides 100%vaccination of service providers.”

Itoo also said at Gulmarg they organised a musical program at the Golf Club which witnessed the participation of a large number of tourists and local visitors. The figure for tourist arrivals in Kashmir reveals that the number is increasing since September this year. In November a total of 127,605 tourists visited Kashmir, which is much higher as compared to earlier years.