Secretary Tourism & Culture, Sarmad Hafeez today launched several tourism related activities to mark the World Tourism Day celebrations at Zabarwan Park here on Tuesday.On the occasion, the Secretary Tourism flagged off the Downtown Legacy Tour and Heritage Walk.
Director Tourism Kashmir, Fazl ul Haseeb; Managing Director, J&K Tourism Development Corporation, Minga Sherpa, heads and representatives of Travel & Trade, tourists, students and other concerned were also present on the occasion.
The Downtown Legacy Tour would explore art and culture of old Srinagar, besides showcasing traditional locations which include Sheher-e-Khaas Bazaar, Khanqah-e-Maula, Tomb of Zainul Abideen's mother, Pathar Masjid, Jamia Masjid, Raghunath Temple, Hari Parbat Fort (Koh-e-marran) and Gurudwara Chattipadshahi.
The events were organized by J&K Tourism Development Corporation and J&K Tourism in association with Aabe Rawan.Speaking on the occasion, Hafeez reiterated that J&K Tourism has taken several initiatives to boost local sightseeing and Downtown sightseeing is another step in this regard.
He observed that the theme of WTD is Rethinking Tourism and J&K has already started on it since 2020. He said that during COVID-19 Pandemic, Tourism Industry was one of the worst hit and that is where Rethinking Tourism comes into handy and there is need to rethink our tourism and find ways and means to revive it pristine glory.
He also congratulated Kashmir Tourism Forum and tourism players alike for participated in these events.He reaffirmed that J&K Tourism is trying to concentrate more on experiential tourism and working to enhance that experience for tourists.He maintained that Kashmir has so much to offer where tourists can come and have this local experience.
He said that J&K is a brand and people from all over the world and the country want to travel to Kashmir.“We have suffered from recent past as there are perceptions about Kashmir, perceptions about travelling to Kashmir and with these initiatives we all are able to defeat some of these perceptions.
All the efforts like festivals, travel marts, road shows has helped us to defeat those perceptions and there is no stopping now,” Hafez told the gathering of tourism players.He added that time is not far when Kashmir will regain number one place in the entire country in tourism.On the occasion, he also launched Sanitation drive along trekking routes and other tourist destinations around Srinagar.