Inadequate infrastructure, a lack of cash, a lack of a roadmap, and a lack of capacity-building efforts are putting the rural tourism sector on the edge of collapsing at a time when Jammu and Kashmir are experiencing a surge in tourist influx.
While many stakeholders feel that the tourist influx in Jammu and Kashmir has increased significantly in the recent six months. The government, on the other hand, was unable to capitalize on the region's specialty tourism. They claim that routine activities have been carried out to attract tourists to the Kashmir region, while many other areas, such as adventure tourism and rural tourism, appear to be unsupported by the government.
According to the UNWTO guidelines on tourism and rural development, the only way to ensure the long-term viability of tourism in rural areas is to adopt and implement a comprehensive, inclusive planning framework based on a multi-action, multi-stakeholder participatory approach.
Utilization of Local Resources
According to stakeholders, the government should make use of local resources as well as provide opportunities for mountainous and underprivileged communities to develop jobs while also improving their economic status, organizational capacities, and natural and cultural assets.
According to tourism industry stakeholder Feroz Ahmad Baktoo, rural tourism growth should be one of the Tourism Department's priorities, and the government should work on improving the rural sector's overall infrastructure.
Impact of social media
With the internet and social media, a paradigm shift in connectivity has occurred around the world, allowing people to monitor, interact, and exchange information. According to the stakeholders, the Tourism Department should encourage local vloggers, bloggers, and authors to write more about the region's unknown places.
According to stakeholders, the tourism sector in Kashmir has experienced tremendous growth in the previous six months, thanks to the influx of tourists during the winter season. Due to travel limitations to many European nations, high-end adventure sports enthusiasts (skiers, snowboarders) from India who would spend millions in Europe for these activities came to Gulmarg this winter. Tourism in Kashmir has benefited greatly as a result of this.
Several international organizations, including the World-Wide Fund for Nature, the International Ecotourism Society, the Eco-Tourism Society of India, the Rainforest Alliance, Sustainable Travel International, and the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, are constantly working to promote sustainable tourism through social media platforms, as well as conducting seminars and publishing annual reports.
