Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), a holiday favourite, may not see the usual number of arrivals from Karnataka this summer. Many tour operators based in the city are reporting far fewer bookings to the northern State, while in other cases, tour operators are themselves cancelling bookings, owing to the unrest in J&K.
Nagesh Babu, MD, World Trails Pvt. Ltd., said that in stark contrast with earlier summer vacations, there were no enquiries for J&K this year.
“During the summer vacations every year — in April and May — around 150 people would travel to J&K from Bengaluru using our services. This year, we have not got any bookings. Until October, we had bookings, and people returned happy from J&K. But since February, there has been no interest, and 14 people have cancelled,” he said, adding that people were instead looking at Sikkim and other similar options. “I doubt things will improve until the situation stabilises completely there. People are, however, still interested in going to Leh and Ladakh,” he added.
Some operators like Kesari Tours Pvt. Ltd. have cancelled tours. “The safety of our guests is paramount. There have been no departures to Kashmir since the end of February,” said Surabhi Kulkarni, a senior executive of the company.
Kashmir is a popular tourist destination, with the summer months seeing a large footfall of domestic tourists.
Karan Anand, Head - Relationships, Cox & Kings Ltd., said the J&K government reported that over eight lakh domestic tourists and 50,000 foreign tourists visited the State in 2018.
“This year, we see a shift in travel away from Kashmir in the medium term due to the present situation. Travellers will schedule their visits for another time. Leh, Ladakh and the Nubra Valley will stand to gain in the coming summer holiday season,” he said.
Almost all tour operators are expecting people to switch to destinations that share the same topography and those that receive a fair bit of snowfall.
“Hill stations, such as Manali, and the Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh, Katao and Zero Point in Sikkim are expected to see a spike in the number of domestic tourists. We expect a 20% increase in numbers to these destinations,” Mr. Anand added.