KL Report
JAMMU
In a move to promote tourism potential and invite attention of foreign tourists to visit the state, the tourism minister, Ghulam Ahmad Mir, who was in Spain to participate in an international tourism event, tried to lure the citizens of Spain.
“Our focus is to lift travel advisories on Kashmir and attract more foreign tourists here and as Germany and Britain have already lifted negative travel advisories for J&K I hope Spain would also allow its citizens to the visit Jammu and Kashmir”, the tourism minister said.
Mir was in Spain to participate in four day long international tourism and trade fair in Madrid, Spain. The Minister said that “we are here at a promotional campaign and have set up several stalls and publicity counters to showcase the varied tourism potential of all the regions of the state”, Mir said and added that good response has been received from Spanish in the mart. He said during the event days “our utmost efforts are to conveyance the Spanish government that Jammu and Kashmir is as safe as other destinations of the world for the tourists”.
As per a statement the Minister while interacting with tourism players and Spanish officials apprised them that Jammu and Kashmir government is specially focusing on promoting tourism in the state. “We have not only developed new tourism spots but upgraded world class infrastructure facilities for the tourist at the world famous destinations of the state, besides creating new attractions of adventure, heritage and eco-tourism as well as leisure tourism”, he informed and added that unfortunately, Jammu and Kashmir has passed through hard times during past, but the resilience of the people of Kashmir has helped the tourism picking up in the state”.
While commenting on travel advisories, the Minister said, “Kashmir was in news for last two decades for unfortunate reasons, but now all is well and we have huge number of foreign tourist arrivals in the state.” Recently countries like Germany and UK lifted travel advisories. We have lots of tourists coming from south East Asia, Middle East, Europe and USA. Recently we had ambassadors from various countries for a Golf tournament in Kashmir, he added.
The Minister assured them all that Kashmir is as safe as Spain or for that matter any other country in Europe. He assured the host country that Tourism is one of the major binding forces for spreading friendship and uniting souls and back in valley all of the tourism players act as tourism ambassadors and try their best to unite those parts of the world which are still less connected.
