Srinagar, May 07: The PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry Kashmir held an interactive meeting with the Secretary Tourism J&K Dr Syed Abid Rashid Shah and Director Tourism Kashmir Raja Yaqoob Farooq to discuss exciting opportunities for the Kashmir region at the upcoming 3rd Tourism Working Group meeting of G20 summit.
The Secretary Tourism apprised the Chamber that the G20 is a great opportunity for J&K to emerge beyond boundaries, the Chamber said in a statement issued here. “The discussion centered on how J&K can take advantage of the G20, which is the world’s largest international economic forum, to showcase the region’s natural beauty and promote tourism.”
With the 3rd Tourism Working Group meeting of the G20 summit scheduled to take place in May in Srinagar, the focus of the meeting was to evaluate the ways J&K could participate in and benefit from the event.
A P Vicky Shaw, Chairman of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry Kashmir region, expressed full support for the government’s initiative of organizing the 3rd Tourism Working Group meeting of the G20 summit.
Dr. Abid, during the meeting announced plans to utilize the latest promotional methods to attract young, emerging tourists and travelers to the region; the statement quoted him as saying said. He said that the tourism department will devise strategies that will include leveraging the power of bloggers, vloggers, and social media to showcase the unique attractions of the area.
During the discussion, the Secretary highlighted the opportunities to promote golf tourism in the J&K region. Shaw, who was earlier president of the Professional Golfers Association of India, commended the government’s efforts to revive the golf tourism in J&K and suggested the revival of Gulmarg Golf Course and the creation of a golf circuit comprising RSGC Srinagar, Pahalgam Golf Course, and Gulmarg Golf Course. Dr Abid expressed full support for promoting golf tourism and pledged to work closely with PHDDCI Kashmir towards this goal, the statement said.
Dr Abid further said that the G20 offers a great platform for showcasing the region’s uniqueness and gaining global exposure. He said it is a form of trust and honor given by global leaders to Kashmir. “This trust is an opportunity for J&K to contribute to optimize occupancy and introduce our culture, handicraft and tourism business to the delegates of G20. However, it takes careful preparation and promotion to get maximum results,” he said.
The PHD Chamber discusses modern ways of marketing tourism destinations with quality and commitment as a vision.
Er Bilal Bhat, EC Member of PHDCCI, apprised the Secretary Tourism for devising a strategy towards ease of doing business for tourism stakeholders to avail of all MSME and industrial benefits through single Udyami registration.
The Chamber and Tourism department vowed to work together closely to make J&K a leading state on the world tourism map, said Nasir Shah, Convenor Tourism Committee of PHDCCI Kashmir. The meeting was also graced by Rouf Ahmad Tramboo as a special invitee who provided in-depth suggestions for the development and promotion of the adventure tourism segment of Kashmir.
The meeting was attended by members of PHDCCI Himayu Wani, Bilal Bhat, Bilal Kawoosa, Haleem Bhat, Showket Mirani, Sajad Shah, Imran Anim, Saleem Bhat, Hilal Anim and Deputy Director PHDCCI Iqbal Fayaz Jan.
