Srinagar, April 24: The rising cost of airfares to the Kashmir Valley is a cause for concern for tourism industry players. Officials said they believe airfares are reaching new heights day by day as the Kashmir Valley heads towards its peak summer tourist season, which is having a negative impact on the industry.
According to industry sources, all flights connecting Kashmir Valley with other states are witnessing drastic hike in fares on a daily basis, which is having a negative impact on the industry. Kashmir attracts a significant number of tourists, which could have been even higher if airfares were more reasonable.
A travel agent in Srinagar told Rising Kashmir that flight ticket prices soar every summer and people often refrain from booking flights due to high fees. Recently, the ticket price from Srinagar to Delhi was around Rs 3,500-4,000. Currently, these tickets are sold for his Rs 7,000 and in some cases can exceed Rs 10,000.
Manzoor Ahmad Pakhtun, president of the Kashmir Houseboat Owners Association, said the situation has been going on for the past few years and despite repeated pleas to higher authorities, there has been no improvement.
Pakhtoon continued that tourists from various parts of India are dissatisfied with airfares, pointing out that traveling outside India is more affordable than traveling to the Kashmir Valley. He suggested that the government should increase flights to help reduce airfares.
Tourists also claim that traveling to Dubai, Hong Kong and several other destinations is more affordable than traveling to Kashmir.
“We have regularly appealed to the aviation minister to address this growing concern,” Pakhtoon said.
Continuing fare increases will not only affect tourists, but also students studying outside the valley and emergency patients.
Another travel agent said Indian families often prefer to travel to Kashmir but cannot afford to do so due to high airfares. “This issue should be resolved by the Ministry of Aviation to make air travel affordable to everyone,” he added.
