‘When the hero is missing, the movie flops’: Lack of snow hits Gulmarg businesses

Gulmarg is one of Kashmir’s main winter tourism attractions, but this season, the bowl-shaped valley has received very little snowfall, and this has led to the flow of tourists reducing to just a trickle.

According to government data, 95,989 tourists visited Gulmarg last January, including 547 foreigners. While the data so far for this January was not made available, government officials said there were 60 per cent fewer tourists in Gulmarg now than at the same time last year.

The Kashmir Valley has experienced a dry spell this winter, with December recording 79 per cent rainfall deficiency. (Express Photo by Shuaib Masoodi)

“This is not the Gulmarg I know,” said Ramesh Kumar (36), a tourist from Haryana’s Jind. “I often come to Gulmarg in winters, but it is for the first time that I am seeing it snowless. I was told by the hotelier (in Srinagar) that there has been little snow this year, but I didn’t expect this,” he said.

Travel agents say Gulmarg has gone through similar situations before, but this time, more businesses have been hit.

“This is not happening for the first time. We saw a similar situation as recent as in 2018. But what has worried us is the impact on young entrepreneurs,” said Rauf Tramboo, president of the Travel Agents Association of Kashmir (TAAK). “Over the last three years, the rush at Gulmarg during winters motivated young men to invest in adventure tourism. Their business is in its infancy, and they are staring at a huge loss,” he said.

The Kashmir Valley has experienced a dry spell this winter, with December recording 79 per cent rainfall deficiency. Gulmarg has received scanty snowfall so far, and even that snow has melted quickly with unusually high day temperatures.

The maximum temperature in Gulmarg on Saturday was 9 degrees Celsius, much higher than the normal of 0.4 degrees for this time of year. Day temperatures in the Valley over the last fortnight have been between six and nine degrees higher than normal.

The higher reaches of Gulmarg – Affarwat and Kongdoori – famous as a skiers’ paradise with steep and dizzying descents, have also been without enough snow for downhill skiing.

The maximum temperature in Gulmarg on Saturday was 9 degrees Celsius, much higher than the normal of 0.4 degrees for this time of year. (Express Photo by Shuaib Masoodi)

TAAK president Tramboo said one adventure travel guide sent some of his clients to Almaty in Kazakhstan. “He had many groups booked for this winter, and as it didn’t snow, he deferred many groups and even sent some of the groups to Almaty,” Tramboo said, adding, “He sent me some pictures from there, and there isn’t much snow there either, but there is enough for skiing.”

According to a government official, “Sports tourism and recreational tourism have been badly hit. As of now we are only receiving leisure tourists.”

Ghulam Mohammad Dar, a kehwa seller in Gulmarg who makes his livelihood during the tourist rush, lamented the slowdown this season.

“This is our misfortune,” said Dar, a resident of Mulgam village in Kunzer. “In winters, you would normally see sledges everywhere. Is there any this time? You will see only the ponies. Seeing ponies in Gulmarg in January is not a joke, it is a bad omen. We are all worried for our livelihood,” he said.

Like during previous winters, most hotels in Gulmarg had been booked in advance for this season, too. However, the lack of snow has hoteliers worried.

“Until now, we have had a good season. But with snow eluding us so far, the bookings have started to fall. Over the last few years, we had been booked full in advance. That was the case this year as well, but now people have started to cancel their bookings,” said a hotelier.

Tramboo, however, points to previous experiences as he remains optimistic about the season. “We have seen snowless December and January in the past as well. But then, we also witnessed good snowfall by the end of January and up to April. We are keeping a watch on the weather and we hope snow will soon drape the slopes of Gulmarg,” he said.

The director of the Meteorological Department in Kashmir, Mukhtar Ahmad, said some snow could be expected in the coming days. “We expect light snowfall on the night of the 16th (of January)… Then there are indications of snowfall on the 20th, 25th, 26th and 27th also. But it is too early to predict it correctly,” he said.

As the wait goes on, Gulmarg Development Authority CEO Raja Waseem said there was more to the resort town than snow. “We are all waiting for the snow, but Gulmarg is beyond snow as well. Gulmarg is still vibrant. We have a festival here every day, and tourists enjoy it fully… We have seen this (lack of snow in January) in the past as well, and we are hopeful that snow will come soon,” he said.