Every day,sixteen airliners descend one-by-one towards the expanded strip at Srinagars international airport. And each arrives packed. With the sharp decline in violence helping Kashmir fast reclaim its forgotten tranquility,the Valley is again becoming a favourite haunt of tourists,especially from the mainland. This rush,however,has led to such a hike in airfares that a trip to Valley from Delhi is now more expensive than a holiday abroad. The minimum cost for a one-way ticket from Delhi this week has been Rs 14,000. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said he has already requested Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel for additional Indian Airlines flights to keep airfares under check. We want tourists to come, Abdullah said. It is a pity if travel to Kashmir gets so expensive. We will do everything to attract more tourists. J&K Tourism Minister Rigzin Jora said as airfares are linked to demand,the rise in airfare means people want to come. This is really great, he said. We are planning to write to the Central government so that we get more flights. According to J&K government records,the number of arrivals last Friday alone was 3,800 of which only 50 were foreigners. The flow has been steady for the last two weeks. The National Highway too is lined with vehicles bringing tourists across the Jawahar tunnel. And once the Amarnath Yatra begins June 15,the government hopes that the number of visitors will better all records this summer. As the sun starts to set,the boulevard road is packed with hundreds of tourists,walking and chatting on the raised pavements of the Dal banks. The lake too looks colourful with dozens of shikaras carrying holiday makers. Separatists too have chipped in,publicly welcoming tourists to the Valley. It is nostalgic, said Ali Mohammad Mir,a Dal dweller. Tourists have begun to come again. But we fear that this rush is not permanent. The government needs to set its house right soon. Mir was referring to the infrastructure which has been ravaged by two decades of strife and lack of basic facilities like uninterrupted power supply and good roads. The tour and travel industry is ecstatic. We were not expecting tourists this year especially because of what happened last year. We were apprehensive that we may even have to shut houseboats this year. Then the Taliban threat was created. But thankfully,we have started getting a lot of enquiries now and tourists are arriving, said Mehraj Siraj,Manager,Kashmir Fair Tour and Travel. These days,the lower middle class come to Kashmir from Gujarat,Maharashtra,Rajasthan and other states. The upper middle class prefer places like Goa over Kashmir mainly because of the facilities there. It is difficult to attract high-end tourists unless facilities like television and Internet facilities are running. We desperately need uninterrupted power supply and Internet connectivity. Omar Abdullah said his government was aware of these problems and would do everything to help the tourism industry. Our hands were tied because of the Code of Conduct. Now that the elections are over,we will certainly take all measures to improve the tourism infrastructure. Arrivals this year are already very good and we would like the tourist flow to increase further. Tourism officials pointed out that Srinagar does not have the infrastructure to host more than 5,000 arrivals a day. There is an immediate need to upgrade it. We will get tourists but a permanent flow can only be ensured if we provide facilities. This summer has provided us a golden opportunity to revive tourism, an official said.
