Jammu fest to make a comeback, Patnitop carnival will be bigger
The slopes of Kashmir will see adventures of heli-skiers from January as a promotional campaign launched by the Jammu and Kashmir Government has attracted several high-end tourists from across India and western countries who will explore the beauty of the Himalayas.
The Tourism Department has decided to revive the concept of a Jammu festival while the winter carnival at Patnitop will be organised in much bigger way this year.
Officials said the next two months were packed with skiers from Europe, United States and Australia set to challenge the Pir Panjal mountains.
Apart from making the turfs of different sections of Pir Panjal accessible to skiers, which had remained out of bounds for tourists due to several security restrictions, the Jammu region is getting focused attention to divert thousands of pilgrim visitors to different destinations under the comprehensive plan approved by the Jammu and Kashmir Government for winters.
“Heli-skiing activities are already going on, but we plan to include more areas in it, apart from Gulmarg, and at a bigger scale. Similarly, in the Jammu region, festivals and cultural events will be staged at Patnitop to make destinations attractive for holiday seekers,” said Farooq Ahmed Shah, Secretary, Tourism.
He said there had been promising signals from several European tour operators, who evinced keen interest in promoting destinations in Jammu and Kashmir to travellers.
Gulmarg will host the National Winter Games from January 1 to 4. This is being seen as an achievement of the ruling dispensation in Jammu and Kashmir and a way to bring the state on the adventure tourism map.
“The next six months will remain very busy for the Tourism Department and other stakeholders. After the games, events have been planned across Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh. Tourism is a high employability sector and its promotion is a priority,” said Shah.
“Our state has immense potential to organise winter and adventure sports events. Places like Gulmarg, Patnitop, Sanasar, Pahalgam and Sonamarg and the Ladakh region will get attention.”
