Gulmarg, the region's main resort on the Indian side of the divided Himalayan region, is popular with daredevil skiers mostly from Asia and Europe. PHOTO: AFP
Gulmarg, the region's main resort on the Indian side of the divided Himalayan region, is popular with daredevil skiers mostly from Asia and Europe who come in search of deep powder snow and untouched slopes.
The region's tourism industry, a vital part of the local economy, has been devastated by two decades of blood-letting during a separatist conflict, but a dramatic fall in violence in recent years has seen a widely welcomed revival.
"I received 150 cancellations in a matter of days all due to the LoC (Line of Control) tension and had to pay heavy cancellation charges to hoteliers," Ayaz Zargar, a local travel operator, told AFP.
"I hear from other operators that up to 40 per cent of advance bookings have been cancelled," he added.
Kashmiri skier Ayaz Zargar soars in the air at a ski resort in Gulmarg, some 55km west of Srinagar. PHOTO: AFP
The flare-up along the Line of Control that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan saw a total of five soldiers killed earlier this month, with fears that tensions between the two countries could escalate.
A ceasefire agreement on January 16 between commanders in both armies has held, however, with politicians on both sides seen as keen to avoid wrecking recent progress in their slow-moving peace process.
"Cancellation of earlier bookings via email started pouring in as soon as the news of fighting at the LoC started appearing in the media," said Tahir Hussain, the manager of Hotel Hilltop in Gulmarg.
Before the border tension, the number of foreign arrivals in the ski resort was slightly higher than in the same period last year, and local tourism officials say they are still confident of a good year.
"We expect this year to be much better than the last in terms of foreign tourist arrivals," said Talat Parvez, the director of tourism in the local government.
Gulmarg has one of the world's highest ski lifts, which ascends to nearly 4,000 metres and offers skiers a downhill run of more than five kilometres.
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This is really bad news. Kashmir received more visitors than the entire country of Pakistan, last year!
Tourism Industry is on the boom. But, the main season is the Summer months and people from other parts of India will flock to Kashmir for a vacation to escape the brutal heat in India.
Pakistanis never admitted to this surge in Tourism in Kashmir because they want to paint a picture of melancholy and death in Kashmir. Not many newspapers have highlighted the record number of visitors to the state last year, but this downturn is duly recorded.
Thankfully the summer months are yet to arrive. There will be record number of tourists this year too, I am sure.