SRINAGAR: The Government on Thursday said in the Assembly it is revising tourism trade rules framed in 1978 to simplify and speed up registration and renewal of guest houses, hotels, homestays and travel units, as part of a broader push to use tourism to generate employment for young people.
The disclosure came in a written reply to a starred question tabled by Ali Mohammad Sagar, in which the Department of Tourism said it is actively promoting the sector through festivals, promotional events and outsourcing of tourism assets to create both direct and indirect jobs. Tourism Department, Jammu and Kashmir.
According to the reply, tourism-linked activities engage event managers, transport operators, digital content creators, guides, hospitality workers and artisans. The department said it routinely outsources cafeterias, huts, parking areas and entry ticketing at tourist sites, creating livelihood opportunities for local youth. It also highlighted simplified homestay registration guidelines intended to expand tourism infrastructure in rural and border areas through community participation.
On procedural bottlenecks raised in the question, the department said registration and renewal of guest houses, hotels, homestays, travel agencies and adventure tour operators are now conducted online and fall under the Public Services Guarantee Act. Applicants who complete the prescribed formalities are to receive approvals within 30 days, the reply said.
The department acknowledged that the governing rules date back to 1978 and confirmed that a revision of the Jammu and Kashmir Tourist Trade Rules is underway. The stated aim is to rationalise and streamline the framework, make processes more transparent and user-friendly, and reduce delays in approvals across the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Assembly record indicates that the rule revision is being positioned as a key administrative reform to address long-standing complaints of delays in obtaining licences and no objection certificates from multiple departments. The department said the changes are intended to improve ease of doing business in the tourism sector while supporting employment generation.
