02 July,2010 08:40 AM IST | | Surender Sharma
Tourists are cancelling travel packages
Blame it on live television coverage of the ongoing unrest in the Kashmir valley, tourists are cancelling bookings in large numbers.
A paramilitary personnel stands guard during curfew in Srinagar
Sources in the tourism industry told MiD DAY that over 50 per cent booking to the hill state have been cancelled or postponed after the recent spurt in violence. And most of them are newly wed couples, which form the major chunk of tourists to the Valley during this time of the season.
Mayank Shekhar, who got married recently, has cancelled his honeymoon plans in Kashmir. "I had planned it for long. It was my dream destination. Sadly, we won't be able to go. We will have to wait for normalcy to be restored," said Mayank, a senior manager with a hospitality firm.
"Post-summer, I had eight bookings per day. Now, there are hardly one or two bookings per day and those who had booked are canceling their trips," said, Joginder Singh of New Delhi Travel House.u00a0
" In the past four days, I have cancelled over 20 bookings. People have either cancelled their bookings or postponed till normalcy returns to the Valley," said Tarun Yadav of Global Passage, a leading travel firm in south Delhi.
However, the travel agents are thanking their stars violence did not erupt during the peak tourist season of April-June that saw a record five lakh travellers thronging to Kashmir. The figure stood at 3.5 lakh for the same period last year.
Violcence broke out in the insurgency-hit state when during an anti-India demonstration in Srinagar, a 17 year old boy died after being hit by a teargas shell fired by the police. Couple of more locals died in other parts of the Valley ever since. Curfew has been clamped on several parts and separatists Hurriyat leaders have been put in house arrest.
