A month after Pakistan-backed terrorists killed 25 tourists and a local ponywallah in Pahalgam leading to a sudden exodus of tourists from the Valley and dealing a big blow to the flourishing tourism industry, tourism operators are trying to pick the threads of their shattered lives once again.

“As of now less than a hundred tourists arrive at the airport, which has grown from 30 to 50 during the past few days”, Mohammad Ashraf Lone, President of the Airport Taxi Stand Drivers’ Union told Awaz-The Voice.

“This is almost zero in comparison with nearly 12,000 tourists -- arrivals and departures -- every day before the Pahalgam incident," he said. Tourists - in groups or individuals - who had bookings, have started arriving over the past few days. "Four vehicles (with over 12 seat capacity each) had reported at the airport for picking up tourist parties on Wednesday, " he said.

A lone woman walks along the Dal Lake in Srinagar

Lone said the Union held a meeting with the Tourism Department to discuss the slump in business and its impact on taxi drivers. Many drivers may default on the EMIs on their vehicular loans and payment of over Rs 12 lakh to the Airport Authority of India.

As part of confidence-building measures to woo tourists again in large numbers after the recent incidents from the Pahalgam killings, an advisory to close 48 tourist spots and suspension of airline services at the airport following cross-border shelling post-Operation Sindoor, a roadshow was organized on Sunday.

On Sunday, a fleet of about 300 vehicles hoisting banners “Welcome to Kashmir” moved from Dal Lake to Pahalgam. The event was organized by tourism traders, hoteliers, transporters, and others to invite tourists back to Kashmir. The organizers maintained that hotels were empty, guides jobless, and shikara rides halted sending the loud message across the country that “Kashmir is safe”. 

A Family enjoying a ride in a shikara in Dal Lake

However, given the unprecedented scenes of a deserted Dal Lake and tourist resorts like Pahalgam, the local operators see the trickling of tourists as the beginning of a 'revival."

Taxi operators at the Srinagar International Airport say the ceasefire between India and Pakistan after Operation Sindoor had a salutary impact on the situation after the airlines resumed operation from Srinagar after a week-long suspension in the wake of Operation Sindoor.

“The situation post-Pahalgam incident is slowly improving for Kashmir tourism. Queries have started coming in after the Prime Minister's assurance to campaign for Kashmir's tourism. The J&K Chief Minister has also been taking this very aggressively and positively”, Peerzada Fayaz Ahmad, former President of the Travel Agents Association of Kashmir (TAAK) told Awaz The Voice.

Some national-level associations are also trying to market Kashmir as a peaceful tourist destination, said Ahmad.

He expressed the hope that with the support of the governments in Delhi and Srinagar Tourism would flourish again and “we would see the people visiting Kashmir in large numbers”.

Women tourists taking a shikara ride in Dal Lake

Concerned at the situation, Omar Abdullah discussed ways to revive tourism in Kashmirg with key tourism stakeholders. He called for a comprehensive tourism revival plan.

“This is my suggestion for your consideration that we thoughtfully shape and finalize this plan without undue haste,” he said at the meeting of Tourism operators and associations.

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He proposed that a robust tourism revival strategy be jointly developed with the Tourism Department after the conclusion Amarnath Yatra which falls in July-August. The package, he said, should extend support to hotels, houseboats, shikaras, taxis, handicrafts and explore innovative models such as unique shopping festivals on the analogy of those in Dubai.