Kashmir has been synonymous with tourism. The rise in the tourist footfall in the past 25 years has been attributed to an improvement in the situation in the backdrop of armed violence.
However, occasional incidents like the summer unrest of 2009 and 2010, Assembly or parliamentary elections or the last year’s floods have hampered the domestic tourist flow.
Kashmir has already achieved an annual mark of over 1.3 million tourists since the situation started showing a gradual improvement in the past one decade.
Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, banking upon the situation in Kashmir, has said he has a “dream to make Kashmir an island of peace and number one tourist destination of the world”. The question remains as to whether Kashmir has the capacity and capability to open its doors to the world tourists.
A strong believer in making things possible, tourism expert Syed Muzaffar Andrabi wants to offer help in attracting foreign tourists to Kashmir.
With an experience of over 25 years in organising global tours, including deluxe American tours around the world, Andrabi talks to us at his ‘Kashmir Caravans’ office on the airport road about the possibilities in Kashmir.
In his early 50s, the energetic and enthusiastic tour professional is an expert in designing new tour programmes, discovering new places and then connecting them in such a way that they become the route for future travellers. “I dedicatedly want to bring Kashmir back on the rails and make it a must visit tourist destination for any traveller,” said Andrabi. “I do not only need to create infrastructure, but also other means like the involvement of top travel writers to disseminate a positive message from Kashmir to the outside world. Recently, The Wall Street Journal had published an article on Kashmir, sending a positive message to the travellers,” he said.
“Give me a free hand and I will create that kind of infrastructure in Kashmir,” he says with a confidence to make the picturesque Valley a destination for the world tourists. Andrabi is also aware of the “negative” message that has gone across in the past over two and a half decades, pointing out that “the positives about the 25 years in Kashmir need to be projected”. “I have the skill and I can do it,” he added.
On the advisories issued to tourists by many countries on travel to Kashmir, Andrabi believes that these “can be withdrawn with our intervention” and at the same time cautions that “if we do not strive now, we will never succeed”. “I like the passion in our CM, which is also an added attraction. It is now or never,” he maintains.
“My travel experience says that our state is unique in whatever way you look at it. This state is a complete destination in itself and it can take any special interest group looking for a particular or a specific interest,” he said.
‘Need to develop better sanitation facilities’
Our unique style of accommodation is the houseboat, but unfortunately it is regarded as a pollutant for the lake. “We need to develop it with better sanitation facilities.”
The only wildlife park at Dachigam is closed for the visitors. It is an irony “we can see up to 20 bears in one place when they come to feed on fruits at this time of the year and instead of showcasing or highlighting it to the world we have closed the park”.
