Jammu tourist circuits 0 Like Tweet 0 Share 0 4.8 हजार पसंद करें Tweet 0 0 J&K Tourism Department has developed something like closed mindset. It is obsessed with two major debilities. One is that it thinks tourism in the State means only Kashmir Valley and nothing beyond though, of course, it does pay lip service to Jammu and Ladakh occasionally for public consumption. Its second obsession is that it thinks only foreign tourists are the mainstay of the industry. Both of these concepts are fallacious and even counter productive. There is need to elucidate the point. First let us say something briefly about the origin of the concept of Kashmir tourism. It formulated during the British Raj when British upper class and ruling class tourists would head towards Kashmir during hot summer of Indian plains and enjoy themselves the cool and salubrious weather of Kashmir. But they had their own standard of spending the summer in the Valley. Out of their life style grew certain facets which set forth the tourist culture in Kashmir like the House Boats, Nagin Club, Ahdoos, Pestonji and Gulmarg golf and retreat etc. This culture prevailed till the departure of the British. So some facts of that culture still linger on with the people concerned with tourist industry in Kashmir. Times have changed and the British tourists are no more there. Therefore, just thinking that foreign tourist would be the mainstay of the industry and hence only Kashmir has to be taken care of is a miscalculation from which the Tourist Department should come out. As such the concept of developing other places in the state especially in Jammu and Ladakh regions should become integral to the tourist industry development plans. Secondly, it has to be remembered that indigenous tourist have also developed financial capacity to spend on tours and travels within the country. India is a country of very vast population and it has the largest middle class with capacity to become the mainstay of country’s tourism. The Tourism Department should, therefore, plan in a way that indigenous tourists get the maximum facilities and opportunities to visit new spots and gain new experience. It is in this background that we suggest the Tourism Department to change its mindset and develop more inward looking attitude towards the industry. In the case of Jammu, by way of example, general opinion is that Sudhmahadev-Ramnagar circuit could be highly promising if it were developed as the tourist spot. Developing a spot means providing necessary infrastructure in the shape of roads, connectivity, accommodation, hotels and restaurants, picnic accessories, children’s parks for recreation, and many more facilities connected with modern life style. Reports say that this circuit has great scenic beauty to offer and could be developed as the must significant tourist spot in Jammu region. Patnitop Development Authority, within whose jurisdiction its development as a tourist spot rests, has to come forward with a major developmental plan. These plans take their own time but a beginning has to be made. It has to be remembered that close to Sudhmahadev, a vast complex had come up; at Mantalai under the supervision of Dhirandra Brahmachari spread over more than a thousand kanals of land. Why did not the PDA propose a massive plan for its further development when some infrastructure was already available there? A new and significant dimension to tourism in our country has to be noted by the policy planners and those connected with the industry. It is the emergence of pilgrim tourism. Indians are getting more and more attracted to visit such sites as are linked with pilgrimage to shrines of deities. Mostly these shrines are located in the recesses of the Himalayan ranges all over northern India. There are a number of shrines and temple spots in the Sudhmahadev region which pilgrims still visit despite many difficulties of road transportation. As we know, the number of pilgrims to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine has gone up; to above one crore per year. If Sudhmahadev- Ramnagar circuit could be developed at least half of this number would also like to make a pilgrimage to the shrines around there. Imagine what boost it would mean to the economy of this backward region and its people. The J&K Tourism Department must take into account this new factor and dimension in state tourism. We hope that State authorities as well as private sector evincing interest in the development and expansion of tourism in the State will pay attention to what has been said. Apart from Sudhmahadev- Ramnagar circuit, tourist circuits in other parts of Jammu region like Thana Mandi-Shupian sector of Mughal Road or Mandi-Gagrian-Sawjan circuits in Poonch or circuits in Kargil- Ladakh region also need to be brought under focus of development. These are crucial to the economic development of the State as whole. Share this:
Posted on: Mon, 14 Jul 2014 11:36:17 +0000
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