In a bid to promote farm tourism, the department of Tourism (Kashmir) today organized a FAM trip of the Valley’s tour operators and houseboat owners to Central Institute of Temperate Horticulture (CITH), Rangreth.Director CITH Desh Beer Singh along with his scientists took the delegation of around 30 persons from travel industry to tour the nurseries and farms and showed them varieties of high yielding fruits and vegetables.On the occasion, Director Tourism (Kashmir) Mahmood A Shah said that farm tourism can be explored as an added attraction for tourists in Srinagar and it needs to be promoted.He said, “J&K is the only state in the country where almonds and saffron grow. We also have monopoly in other fruits like walnut and apple.”He said that the tourists who want to purchase apple, walnut, almonds, saffron and other things can directly buy the quality products from these farms. He added that fruit blooms and flowering in different seasons here can also be promoted in a big way throughout the year.
Spread over hundreds of kanals of land, this farm has over 250 varieties of apple, 400 varieties of walnut, 100 varieties of almonds, 50 varieties of apricot, 30 varieties of peach, 30 varieties of plum, 10 varieties of cherry,18 varieties of olive crops, 6 varieties of kiwi, besides hazel nuts and other fruits and vegetables.Director Tourism appealed the travel agents to add this farm to their tour itineraries. He also informed that the center has established museum showcasing the different varieties of the fruits and crops.Later, travel agents hold interaction with Director CITH where they provided suggestions and feedback for promoting the place among tourists destinations.Director CITH assured them that all possible steps will be taken for making it a tourist attraction. He also agreed to allow tourists to visit the orchards and nurseries and provide them information about the crops.The travel agents appreciated the efforts of the Director Tourism for exploring new tourism products in the valley.