Srinagar, Jan 15: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and party’s J&K spokesperson Altaf Thakur said he is reaching out to the country’s investors to invest in the hospitality sector of Kashmir, given the expectations that this year, the tourist arrivals, including foreign visitors, will touch 3 crores.
He urged the investors to invest in building five-star hotels, lodges and guest houses across Kashmir not just for huge returns but to generate livelihood opportunities for the locals of Kashmir and Jammu regions. He said Kashmir is emerging as the wedding destination.
Thakur in a statement said dozens of destination weddings have taken place in Srinagar, Pahalgam and Gulmarg tourist resorts, even as the world-famous Dal Lake remains the hot favourite. “With the improvement in the security situation and prevailing peaceful environment, Kashmir has been attracting many couples planning to make their destination weddings a memorable one,” he said.
The BJP leader said Kashmir has tremendous natural beauty and magnificence. “In the past few months, destination weddings have picked up in a big way. We have had some major destination weddings in Kashmir and one of the weddings took place at the famous Dal Lake. I think this will take the tourism potential of Kashmir Valley to the next level. This can happen in all the divisions of Jammu as well as Kashmir,” he said, adding that with this thing picking up, investors have a great opportunity to invest in the hospitality sector.
He said the number of foreign guests has considerably increased since the G-20 meeting in Srinagar in May last year.
Thakur hailed the Department of Tourism for opening properties like the Royal Spring Golf Course in Srinagar for tourists to host their weddings. “The department is also helping the wedding planners with all that is required to make these weddings memorable experiences for the guests. In the past two years, around 150 destination weddings were hosted in Kashmir which is a good sign rather than a welcome development. This opens doors for the Indian investors to make quick investments in the hospitality sector and spread the hotel chains across the Valley,” he said.
