Jammu and Kashmir, which was traditionally a prime tourist destination in India is set to see a major fall in tourism arrivals and revenues thanks to the floods that have hit the state. The upcoming Navaratri and Dussehra festivals in September-October are likely to be bad for the tourism industry. Travel companies such as Yatra, TUI and Welcome Heritag are reporting upto 70% cancellation on flight and hotel bookings for September and beyond.
MD, Atsar Exports, Shafi Goroo, also echoes the turmoil in the handicrafts industry, that has depended on tourists as its major source of income. “We have a godown in Srinagar and about 20% of the stock for my exports business came from this facility while the rest was sourced from artisans and weavers in the region. All that is gone for now. We don’t know how it will be when the waters recede. I don’t think there will be any business for the next 8-10 months,” he said.
The Lotus Retreat Houseboat firm has also indicated similar issues and their flet of houseboats is in troubled circumstances. They have no idea what the situationof several of their boats is.
Several cultural festivals have also been cancelled such as the Paradise Music festival in Sonamarg, that was set to be held from September 11 to 15. However the floods not only cancelled the show, they also trapped the organisers there, who had to sweat it out for six days, before trekking out to Leh, and from there catching a flight to Delhi.
Kashmir will likely take a while to recover, but in the mean time, Himachal Pradesh, south of the state will likely see a windfall in deflected tourism.