Kashmir: Tourism rebound offers hope to businesses hit hard by lockdowns
Tourists are flocking to Kashmir's snow-filled resorts, as the region reels from an economic hit wrought by the COVID pandemic and New Delhi's harsh lockdown restrictions.
Heavy tourist influx in 2021
The heavy influx of tourists this year has given new cheer to the people of India-administered Kashmir. It is a dramatic change for the tourism industry in the disputed region, which faced the double whammy of the coronavirus pandemic and harsh curbs on civil rights New Delhi imposed in the region in August 2019.
Idyllic hill station
Located at a high altitude, Gulmarg is considered as one of the best places for winter sports in Asia. With its blanket of white, the idyllic hill station is seeing tourists again fill its hotels and ski, sledge and trek its Himalayan landscape.
A year-round destination
Gulmarg was developed as a resort by the British nearly a century ago, and the region's eternal appeal with foreign visitors has made it a year-round destination. In summer, tourists meander through meadows, ravines and evergreen-forested valleys. In winter, they snowboard, ski, and trek on Asia's largest ski terrain.
An unprecedented clampdown
The 2019 end of Kashmir's semi-autonomous status and an unprecedented security clampdown morphed Gulmarg into a ghost town. New Delhi also imposed a communications shutdown in the restive region to quell unrest after it revoked the territory's semi-autonomy and brought it under direct rule.
Severe economic losses
The restrictions caused severe economic and job losses in Kashmir. It also impaired the already feeble health care system and paused the school and college education of millions. The Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries pegged the economic losses in the region at $5.3 billion (€4.37 billion) and about half a million jobs lost till August last year.
Pandemic compounds woes
Last March, Indian authorities enforced a harsh lockdown to combat the coronavirus, all but halting foreign travel. But the pandemic made Indians reconsider their own vacations, with many of them deciding to travel to Gulmarg when otherwise they might have gone abroad.
'A good sign'
For the first time in 15 months, hotels are sold out until the end of February. "For January and February, we have had 100% bookings in Gulmarg which is a good sign. We hope the trend keeps going upward," a tourism official told DW. Some tourists say they're visiting Gulmarg this time because of the COVID-related travel restrictions in places like Europe.