‘State’s 7 % GDP comes from tourism, Govt. cannot remain in slumber’: Kadfeen

Srinagar:  Congress leader Kadfeen Choudhary on Monday expressed serious concern over the dreadful dip being witnessed in Kashmir’s tourist arrival, stating that the central and the state governments have miserably failed to present picturesque Valley as a promising tourist destination.

Kadfeen said that official figures itself reveal Rs 7.39 crore were spent by the tourism department of the state last year on its six offices outside the valley. Rs 4.68 crore, out of the entire sum, was spent on advertisements and publicity by its New Delhi office.

However, according to Kadfeen, despite such plethora of public money spent, the results are unreachable so far. “Some 20 percent of the state’s 12.5 million people directly or indirectly depend on tourism for their livelihoods.They include management and employees of hotels, houseboats, guest houses, restaurant dormitories and tent houses,” Kadfeen said and added that the government seems to have  forgotten the importance of such an important sector of the state.

He added that 2.1 million people in Jammu and Kashmir are indirectly depend on tourism, such as taxi drivers, shopkeepers, vendors and fruit sellers and that tourism accounts for 7 percent of the state’s income and is considered an important sector of Kashmir’s economy.

However, says Kadfeen, the government has failed to rejuvenate the tourism sector of the state and such a non-serious handling of state affairs has caused the heaviest hit on the livelihood of people.