Jammu (NVI): Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha today assured the tourists across the globe a safe, pleasant and memorable visit to the Union Territory, saying that the tourism sector is getting back on track and the UT administration is taking all steps to tap its immense potential.
“I assure the tourists across the globe a safe, pleasant and memorable visit to J&K, the paradise on earth. Come and witness the scenic beauty, rich culture and heritage of J&K”, he said at the closing ceremony of Pahalgam Winter Carnival through virtual mode.
The LG congratulated J&K tourism department and all stakeholders for successful conduct of the two-day long event and providing opportunities to the local artists to display their talent in various fields.
He said that the tourism sector is getting back on track with increasing tourist influx in the UT. “Footfall of tourists has increased manifold in the last three months. Local community and stakeholders must come together to ensure development of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
Laying emphasis on taking innovative measures for the promotion of the tourism sector and tapping its immense potential, the J&K LG directed the tourism department for putting concerted efforts on promoting sustainable destinations and developing unexplored places of tourism potential while branding J&K in the international tourism circuit.
“We should never forget that every tourist destination has its own strengths and all we need to do is to focus on involving local communities, creating sustainable tourism and addressing the needs of tourists.” said the Lt Governor.
Underlining the significance of optimum utilization of new technologies and various modern tools of communication, he called for regular updates on social media and websites of departments/agencies, besides promoting places of tourism, potential through small promotional videos.
“Even during the COVID pandemic, J&K has witnessed a huge rise in tourists’ footfall with the administration following all the COVID related SoPs and testing at all tourist arrival places,” he added.
While speaking on various potential areas of the tourism sector, the LG observed that the UT administration is putting up committed efforts to make J&K the most favourite destination of filmmakers which will “also go a long way in giving a fillip to the socio-economic development of the region”.
The LG directed the Tourism department to work on broader framework and explore possibilities to conduct a program on lines of the Dekho Apna Desh program, besides imparting training to local tourist guides.
“Like Gulmarg, Pahalgam also has huge potential for adventure tourism. Other places of tourism potential in the UT need to be promoted through various platforms,” Sinha said.
“Tourism department, local community, artists, and other stakeholders are together providing an attractive environment for the tourists coming to J&K. The way we have made a successful comeback in the tourism sector, more favourable results can be witnessed in coming days,” he said.
Baseer Khan, Advisor to the LG, while speaking on the occasion, termed the tourists as perfect ambassadors of J&K. He said that on February 25, Sonamarg is going to open for tourists.
Also present on the occasion, Sarmad Hafeez, Secretary to the Government, Tourism Department said that the tourism department is going to hold 21 road shows in as many cities and is attending travel marts across the country.
Director- Tourism, Kashmir, Dr G N Itoo, in his welcome address, gave a detailed briefing about the Pahalgam Winter Carnival. Cash prizes worth Rs 50,000 each were also awarded to the winners of different categories.
Earlier this month, Bollywood celebrities including Vidya Balan and Arbaaz Khan had attended a winter festival at Gulmarg, a comeback of film industry to the valley.
Recently, Punjabi Singer Guru Randhawa had also visited Gulmarg for shooting of his new video song “Abhi na chhodho mujhe” featuring actress Mrunal Thakur.
Guru #Randhawa visited #Gulmarg for shooting of his new video song “Abhi na chhodho mujhe” featuring actor Murnal Thakur. Along with the star actors, the song director Ashish praised the beauty of #Kashmir and spoke about shooting a movie soon in #Kashmir.#GloryReturnsToKashmir pic.twitter.com/epgAmzFm8M
— Glory Returns to Kashmir (@KashmirGlorious) February 22, 2021
The singer had apparently suffered nose bleeding at ski resort Gulmarg while shooting for his upcoming song, last month.
“So difficult to shoot at -9 ⷪC, but hard work is the only way forward,” Randhawa had tweeted.
-ARK
