In the last three months, the Kashmir Valley has broken all prior visitor arrival records. In the months of January, February, and March, the valley had almost 3,40,000 visitors. The month of March witnessed the highest number of tourist visits, with 1,80,000 visitors. For years, the Kashmir Valley has seen a large number of visitor arrivals.
The influx of tourists compelled the authorities to boost the number of flights operating at Srinagar Airport. Every day, around 92 planes depart from Srinagar airport, carrying approximately 15,000 passengers. 58,000 visitors visited the valley in the final seven days of April. The Tulip Garden debuted in the latter week of March, and on April 2, it was visited by over 50,000 people.
‘During the month of January, we received around 60,000 tourists. In February, it increased to 100,000, and in March, we had a record-breaking amount of 1,80,000 visitors. We have already received 58,000 visitor arrivals in the past seven days of April. Every day, around 8,000 people arrive. So, in the last three months, it has surpassed the three million mark. It’s reassuring to see that our efforts are bearing fruit. We anticipate more tourists in the future,’ said Ahsan Ul Haq, Deputy Director of Tourism.
So far, over 3,000,000 people have visited the Tulip Garden. According to the authorities, based on the numbers, it appears that all prior attendance records for the garden would be shattered. According to valley travel brokers, all five- and four-star hotels and residences are fully booked for the next two months. Even mid-range hotels are fully booked till June.
‘Tulip Garden just opened, and we’ve had a wonderful season. It began in January and lasted through February. All of our hotels and houseboats are fully booked, with reservations made for the next two months. Kashmir is all sold out. We have a decent flow of guests currently, and everything in the valley is booked till June, and we are certain that all prior records will be smashed,’ said Waseem Gousani, a travel agency.
Spring is one of the most lovely seasons to visit the valley. The Jammu and Kashmir tourism agency organized many spring festivities in order to attract more people and extend the spring season. This year, the department has extended the spring season to include other gardens as well as tulips. Tourists from all across the country visit the Kashmir Valley to appreciate the gorgeous gardens and hill stations.
Tourists in the valley expressed their delight at seeing Kashmir tourism thrive after so many years. ‘It’s a great site, and I hope more people would visit. It’s truly a paradise, and we’ve only seen it on TV and in in Bollywood films. It’s worth going and seeing for yourself. It will benefit the locals and provide them with a source of income. Locals will benefit greatly. They must have lost a lot of business as a result of covid, but they are now on the mend. It’s as though nature is beckoning us. We’ve seen visitors from all around India come here. We’re thrilled over here, and it was enjoyable,’ remarked another traveler, Asmita Louis.
‘It’s a dream come true, and it’s stunning. There was no trepidation. Every location in this area is stunning. We had to wait in line for more than an hour at Gondola Gulmarg due to the heavy tourist traffic. We visited Pahalgam and Gulmarg. Everyone should come here and experience this,’ remarked another traveler, Jyoti Mehrotra. The influx of tourists has taken everyone in the tourism department by surprise. Officials working in Srinagar’s gardens said they had never seen such a throng.
‘Every record has been shattered this year. Last Saturday, we had a large number of tourists visit us; around 10,000 individuals came that day. Because of Ramadan, we can observe that residents aren’t visiting in large numbers, but visitors are. Every day, around 3,000 people visit Nishat Garden,’ stated Khurshid Ahmad, an official of Nishat Garden. The administration anticipates that the numbers will rise further in the coming months.
Post Your Comments