Srinagar, Oct 23: The Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department is all set to host mega saffron and houseboat festivals in the first two weeks of November, officials said on Sunday.
Director Tourism Kashmir Fazl ul Haseeb told Rising Kashmir that the department is hosting saffron festival and houseboat festival in the first two weeks of November.
“All preparations have been completed for the twin autumn festivals to be held next month. Exact dates will be shared later,” he said.
Fazl ul Haseeb said the prime objective of observing these festivals is to increase the tourist count in the Kashmir Valley on various fronts, during this season.
“Various campaigns for promotion of tourism in Kashmir will continue across India,” he said, adding that the department is getting positive feedback from the stakeholders.
The director said, “Such types of festivals in Kashmir are not just about the harvesting of saffron but also about celebrating the Kashmiri culture and the bountiful harvest.”
He said early snowfall has sent a good message to tourists and has attracted a good number of guests to the Valley.
“Each day we are receiving 5000 to 5500 tourists. We are hopeful this trend will continue in upcoming months too,” Fazl ul Haseeb said.
“Recently department hosted the Bird Festival 2022 along with Sanctuary Nature Foundation (SNF). We got a good response from the people and in future more such events would be held by the department to attract more tourists,” he said.
Another official at the Tourism Department said, “17.94 lakh tourists, including 10,500 foreign nationals have visited Kashmir till September end of this year.”
He said, “the figure is apart from that 3.65 lakh Amarnath yatris also visited Kashmir this year. It means more than 20 lakh tourists visited Kashmir this year, which is a positive move," the official said.
"The tourist arrivals picked up speed from October 2021 and have not stopped since then which is in turn has improved the local economy," he said.
July recorded the highest flight operations in 2022 by recording over 3400 to and fro flights at the Srinagar airport.
Earlier this year, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha launched J&K Tourist Village Network under Mission Youth.
The initiative was aimed at transforming 75 villages of the UT known for historical, picturesque beauty, and cultural significance into tourist villages.