Kashmir has from times immemorial been the most sought after tourism destination by people across country as well as abroad but when militancy broke in early nineties, the tourism industry was the first causality and it was badly hit. Tourism industry suffered massive losses and there was hardly any footfall. But with the passage of time Kashmir witnessed improvement in the security situation and Tourists started visiting Kashmir in large numbers. Also, due to covid-19 the tourism industry was badly hit in the valley.
When covid situation stabilized and restrictions were removed within the country, people flocked to Kashmir in large numbers because Government of India promoted Kashmir by running aggressive marketing campaigns. Year 2022 saw Kashmir breaking all previous records when people visited Kashmir beyond carrying capacity especially during the peak months of April, May and July. Year 2023 is also witnessing large footfall of tourists and all the hotels and other accommodation facilities remain sold out most of the times.
Kashmir being an eco fragile zone can bring a disaster if we promote tourism beyond carrying capacity. The concept of Tourism beyond carrying capacity refers to the acceptable number of tourists that can be accepted in a certain area, which can not only meet the needs of tourists and benefit the tourism industry, but also protect the environment and reduce the impact.
With good Tourism season, people in Kashmir have been making huge investments especially in accommodation sector but unfortunately in most of the cases, this is not being done keeping into consideration the environmental sensitivities and some infrastructure has come up which doesn’t blend well with local taste. In the absence of tourism regulation policy there is no check and balance on the arrival of tourists at our tourist attractions which has overburdened our resources.
Unlike Kashmir, for instance, in Europe all the tourist destinations are developed keeping in mind its ecological sensitivities and tourism is not promoted beyond carrying capacity. The government and policy makers must make efforts to promote Kashmir on sustainable lines so that the pristine beauty is preserved for future and sanctity of this place is maintained in its original or existing state.
(Author is Environmental activist. Email: [email protected])
