Pahalgam Terror Attack: Travel Agents Fear 90% Cancellations Of Kashmir Tours After Baisaran Shooting

Mumbai: The recent terror attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam has hit the valley’s tourism sector right in the heart as around 40% of tourists from Maharashtra and across the country are now rethinking their holiday plans. Travel agents believe that this will also divert 90% of potential tourists shift to other destinations. The fear among people is also expected to affect Amarnath Yatra which will be started in July.

Tourism in Kashmir was booming at its peak with tourists enjoying the meadows and mountains of the valley during a pleasant spring. Just like the Shikara rides in the Dal Lake and Tulip Gardens in Srinagar, Pahalgam’s Baisaran, known as Mini Switzerland for its lush green meadows surrounded by dense pine forest, was also attracting thousands of tourists.

However, all of this continued only until late noon on Tuesday till the terrorist attack on tourists in Baisaran made the valley go silent. The attack was also on Kashmir’s tourism, which was still trying to bloom in its full glory. This terror attack has sparked worries among travellers from across the country, who were planning to visit the valley in near future.

Travel agents and tour operators have started receiving cancellations for Kashmir bookings as soon as news of the terrorist attack surfaced. Indians as well as foreign tourists have started inquiring about cancellations and rescheduling of their plans. Specifically, the tour operators in Mumbai and Maharashtra are receiving calls from their customers asking for cancellations of their holiday plans to Kashmir.

Talking to The Free Press Journal, Sameer Karnani, national managing committee member of Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), said, “There is a lot of anger and frustration among the passengers. We have received too many calls in less than 24 hours of the attack from passengers rethinking and reconsidering their plans. There is also a rise in cancellations from inbound travellers.”

Maharashtra is the biggest market for Kashmir tourism in terms of numbers and spending capacity. Tour operators from Maharashtra have said that they have received around 30% to 40% cancellations after the attack. However, they believe that the incident will divert 90% of tourists to destinations other than Kashmir. However, the agents are trying that they can avoid cancellations by assuring the tourists that such incidents rarely happen.

Vishvajeet Patil, president of Maharashtra Tour Organisers’ Association, said, “People are scared after seeing the attack’s visuals. Fear psychosis plays a huge role in such cancellations. We are asking people to wait for a while before cancelling their trips and are also getting them connected with people who are safely travelling in other parts of Kashmir.” He added that the association has decided that the agents will not cancel any tours on their own to send out a positive message for Kashmir’s tourism industry.

While the cancellations and reschedules are constantly increasing, the travel agents had urged the airlines to provide relief to people changing their plans to travel to Kashmir. Following this, the airlines have also announced complimentary rescheduling and full refunds on cancellations of travel dates. These offers will apply on cancellations to passengers with confirmed bookings till April 30.

The attack has not only affected Kashmir’s commercial tourism but also its religious tourism, specifically the Amarnath Yatra, which is supposed to start on July 3. Pahalgam serves as one of the two routes to the Amarnath shrine and an attack at this crucial location has also sparked worries among the pilgrims.

“Amarnath Yatra has always been engulfed with terrorism-related fears. Pahalgam attack brought religion in the picture with the terrorists asking for the tourists’ religion before shooting at them. This has spread fear among the Hindus and will certainly affect the annual pilgrimage,” Patil said.

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