Despite travel advisories, Kashmir safe destination for foreign tourists

Despite most of the European countries and the US posting adverse travel advisories on Kashmir, the region continues to be a safe destination for foreign tourists.

A National Crime Record Bureau report reveals that no case of crime against foreigners emerged in J&K during 2016, 2017 and 2018. “There was no case of violence, sexual assault, rape, forgery, theft and cheating reported from Jammu and Kashmir against the foreigners who visited the region in these years,” it says.

The tourism data shows that most of the foreigners, who visited J&K, had stayed only in the Kashmir division. However, the report reveals that on the contrary, there have been 13 cases registered against foreigners who have committed crimes in J&K in two years.

The NCRB report also reveals there was no crime against solo women travellers in Kashmir during the period.

Countries like Germany, UK, US and Canada had issued advisories against travelling to Jammu & Kashmir to their citizens soon after New Delhi on August 5, 2019, revoked J&K’s special status under Article 370 and announced bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two separate union territories.

Tourism officials say the NCRB report should serve as an eye-opener to foreign countries which have barred their citizens from visiting Kashmir. “Tourism department has a very limited role in getting the advisories lifted as we can only request the Ministry of External Affairs to take up the issue with the foreign countries,” he said.

Tour operators, hoteliers and houseboat owners -- who have already lost hundreds of crores as tourist inflows fell to a 17-year low in 2020 – say the stories about Kashmir being unsafe for tourists are exaggerated.

“Unfortunately, several media organisations only portray a negative image of Kashmir. Political conflict and the impact of the incidents on J&K borders is being projected in such a way that tourists outside Kashmir start thinking about their safety. However, the reality is entirely different,” said Parvez Ahmad, owner of a three-star hotel in Srinagar.