Kashmir Valley’s nearly snowless winter has caused a 30-50 per cent decline in visitor numbers. Additionally, the world-renowned ski resort of Gulmarg, which was supposed to host the 5th edition of the Khelo India Winter Games, has been cancelled. Moreover, the region’s winter tourism industry has been greatly harmed by Kashmir’s prolonged dry season.
How Has The Dry Winter Impacted Tourism In Kashmir?
According to Zahoor Ahmed Qari, a travel operator and past president of the Kashmir chapter of the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), tourists who were hoping to see snowfall have cancelled their trips to Kashmir. He told The New Indian Express that because of the continuous dry weather and absence of snowfall, visitors had postponed their intended trips to Kashmir. Tourists desire to see snowfall in Kashmir once in their lifetime, but many have had to cancel their vacations due to the extended dry period.
He claimed that because there has been less snowfall, foreign visitors have also cancelled their plans to visit Gulmarg. The decrease in tourist foot traffic has hurt hotel, guest house, and houseboat occupancy. According to Zahoor, hoteliers were contacting them to sell their empty rooms even though the hotels were fully booked for February and March.
Aqib Chaya, a well-known hotelier and the president of the Hoteliers Club in Gulmarg, told The New Indian Express that because of the absence of snowfall this year, their business in Gulmarg has only been between 60 and 70 per cent, but in other winter tourist sites, it is roughly 50 per cent. According to him, reservations were made through March because there used to be snowfall up until that point, but this year there was a lot less snowfall because of the extended dry season.
Khelo India Winter Games Stand Cancelled
The cancellation of the 5th Khelo India Winter Games in Gulmarg due to insufficient snowfall has further aggravated the feelings of the tourism stakeholders.
The dates of the 5th Khelo India Winter Games were set for February 22–25 in Gulmarg. The Khelo India winter games, which have now been cancelled, were anticipated to draw between 6000 and 7000 participants, according to Faiz Bakshi, secretary general of the Kashmir Chambers of Commerce and Industry (KCCI).
The attendees were given rooms by the hoteliers. However, all of them have since been cancelled. Manzoor Pakhtoon, the vice-president of the Houseboat Association and Chairman of the J&K Tourism Alliance, told The New Indian Express. He also said that the postponement of the Khelo India winter games due to insufficient snowfall in the ski resort of Gulmarg was not encouraging. The Kashmir tourism industry has suffered a significant loss as a result of the Khelo India games being postponed due to inclement weather.
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