The Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department has showcased the state’s scenic beauty and film tourism potential in one of the country’s largest travel show OTM that begun at Bombay Exhibition Centre from today.The State’s Tourism Department, which is also one of the participants, has decorated its space beautifully highlighting the pristine glory and scenic beauty of Kashmir and its world famous tourist resort to attract visitors from different parts of the globe.Over 10,000 trade visitors from around 50 countries make to the OTM, Mumbai each year. National / Regional Tourist Organisations, State Government Tourism Departments, Tour Operators, Travel Agents, Hotels / Hotel Chains, Resorts, Destination Management Companies, Adventure Tourism, Airlines, Car Rentals, Railways, Coach Operators, Cruise lines, Time- share, Amusement / Theme Parks, Technology and Communication, Information / Reservation Systems, Insurance, Foreign Exchange, Banks / Credit Cards, Incentive Travel Destinations, Conference Venues, Publications, Maps, Guides participate in the event and promote the tourism potential in their areas.
The department of tourism J&K has received overwhelming response from the visitors where the products and diverse culture of all the three regions of the state viz; Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh were prominently showcased.Director Tourism Kashmir, Mahmood A Shah interacted with the visitors and apprised them about the J&K’s tourism potential and infrastructural facilities. He urged the visitors to visit the Kashmir to personally realize the heaven on earth which is a round-the-year season for the tourists from the world over.On the sidelines of the Exhibitions, J&K also participated in a workshop on Films titled “Shoot-at-Sight” wherein department of tourism highlighted the film shooting potential.Vice Chairman, JKTDC, Mohammad Rafi Mir spoke during the workshop and interacted with the filmmakers and visitors.He urged filmmakers to visit Kashmir for film shooting.Mahmood A Shah in his presentation titled “60 years of shooting in Kashmir” urged film makers to visit Kashmir for shooting which is a world famous destination for the shooting.
Speaking on the occasion, Director Tourism Kashmir said Kashmir is natural backdrop for Indian film makers who have shot in Kashmir hundreds of times. He informed the gathering that recently during the snowfall in Kashmir, prominent ads were shot in Kashmir. He apprised them about the single window clearance system adopted by the Directorate of Tourism for the hassle-free permissions granted to the filmmakers.Chairman and CEO Fair Fest Media Ltd, Sanjay Agarwal, Vice President Production, Yash Raj Films, Ashish Singh, Director Earnest and Young Utkarsh Sanghvi, Managing Director Motion Picture Distribution Association India Uday Singh, CEO Film and Television Guild Kulmeet Makker, Chairman Global Hoppers Abhijeet Patil participated in the workshop.On the occasion, the tourism department distributed publicity material of all the tourist destinations of the State extensive. Department of tourism has taken 200 square meters of space in this three day exhibition which would culminate on 23rd February.Deputy Director Tourism (Publicity), Kashmir, Peerzada Zahoor Ahmed, Deputy Director Jammu (Publicity), Showkat Mahmood, Manager at JKTDC Delhi, C B Kaul, Assistant Director Kargil, Aga Taha also participated in the OTM for tourism promotional activities.