Hope Rises With Snowfall: Sonamarg Sees Full Bookings Ahead of New Year
*New Year Rush Revives Sonamarg Tourism as Hotels Report Full Bookings*
*GN Raina*
Srinagar, Dec 30, KNT: Tourism activity in the Kashmir Valley has witnessed a noticeable revival ahead of New Year, with major hotels in the health resort of Sonamarg in Ganderbal district reporting full bookings. The renewed tourist inflow has brought relief and optimism to thousands of people whose livelihoods depend on the tourism sector.
Officials and stakeholders said that tourist movement has increased across several destinations in the Valley this month, reversing the prolonged slowdown that followed the Pahalgam attack earlier this year. The incident had severely impacted the tourism industry, affecting the income of lakhs of people associated with hotels, transport, travel agencies, and allied services.
Hoteliers have introduced discounts of up to 50 percent in an effort to attract more visitors, a move that has contributed to the recent surge in bookings. Chairman of the Hoteliers Association, Mushtaq Ahmed Chaya told the news agency Kashmir News Trust that tourist arrivals are picking up on the occasion of Christmas and the New Year. He expressed hope that domestic and foreign tourists would visit Kashmir in larger numbers to enjoy the fresh snowfall.
Chaya clarified that the current hotel bookings are primarily for Christmas and New Year celebrations, and that no significant advance bookings beyond this period have been received so far.
Managing Director of Hotel Village Walk, Shahzad Rasool, said that hotels in Sonamarg have bookings from December 18 onwards, largely linked to the festive season. However, he noted that fresh bookings are currently limited. Rasool stressed that a sustained promotional campaign at the national level is needed to further restore tourist confidence in the Valley.
Meanwhile, Ajay Modi, General Manager of Ajay Tour and Travel based in Ahmedabad, said that bookings for Kashmir are presently taking place at a normal pace. He said he has been bringing tourists to Jammu and Kashmir for the past 38 years and described Kashmir as an irreplaceable destination. Modi acknowledged that his business suffered after the Pahalgam attack but expressed confidence that Kashmir’s tourism sector would recover strongly in the coming period. [KNT]
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