BY DEBAJYOTI CHAKRABORTY
KOLKATA | 23 APRIL 2025
In the wake of the darstardly attack upon the tourists in Pahalgam yesterday, the travel fraternity of City of Joy stands together , showing solidarity to Kashmir Tourism and has organized a Candle Walk tomorrow from West Bengal Youth Hostel in Moulali.
Tour operators, hoteliers, airlines and locals across the city of Kolkata are going to unite tomorrow for the support of Jammu and Kashmir Tourism.
The state of West Bengal has lost three brave heart tourists in the cowardly attack upon tourists by the terrorists in Pahalgam yesterday along with 23 others.
The route of the candle march will be from West Bengal Youth Hostel Moulali to S N Banerjee Road – Wellington Crossing – right turn to Lenin Sarani cross- RSM Square – march ends. The assembling time is 5 PM.
The candle march has been jointly organized by TAAI, TAFI, SKAL International, IATO, TIA, ETAA, HRAEI, Galileo, Amadeus, All Airlines and all travel community members.
Mr. Hinglaj Dan Ratnoo, Officer in charge of Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC) in Kolkata condemned the Pahalgam
incident along with the tourism department of Government of Rajasthan .
” This is the first time that tourists have been targeted in India by the terrorists and that too in a country which follows the path of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ ( meaning treat your guests as God) since centuries. All other Indian states and tourism department stands with solidarity with J &K Tourism,”he added.
Talking to The Travel and Tourism Times, Mr. Debjit Dutta, Chairman ( West Bengal) of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) has said that the mass cancellations for Kashmir booking is easily understandable at this stage , but his greater concern lies in the long term impact on inbound tourism in India and overall incoming traffic in the days to come.
Mr. Bilolaksha Das, Chairman ( East) of Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) said that the terror blow is a big blow to tourism in Jammu and Kashmir and will take time to restore back confidence amongst the tourists.
“ The vacation are approaching and almost 50 percent of the visitors to Jammu and Kashmir are from this state and all bookings are being cancelled by the panicked tourists. There has been record footfall in Kashmir last year and even off beat destinations like Doodhpathri, Apricot Blossoms etc were attracting tourists to interior parts of Kashmir. Both Kashmir and Ladakh tourism have suffered a jolt before the upcoming peak tourist season. People are now demanding refunds for cancellations of flight tickets, hotel bookings etc,”he added.
“ All the travel agents associations, airlines and other tourism stakeholders are uniting tomorrow for a candle march in Kolkata to show solidarity for Kashmir tourism in their biggest hour of crisis,” said Mr. Anjani Kumar Dhanuka, Chairman ( East), Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI).
Mr. Saptarshi Bhattacharya, Director of popular Travel Agency, Parjatakguru in Kolkata said that the tourists want complete refunds of the booking amounts to Kashmir holidays and urging for fresh bookings in hill stations of other states like Uttarakhand , Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim etc.
Dr. Kaulesh Kumar, Secretary General of Association of Buddhist Tour Operators (ABTO) have also condemned the terror attack in Pahalgam and has urged the DGCA to issue advisory to airlines over surge in pricing and waiving cancellations charges and putting additional flights to and from Srinagar International Airport.
“West Bengal is the biggest source market for domestic tourism in J&K,” says Mr. Irshad Ahmad Lone, MD of Lone Tours and Travels in Srinagar. Kashmir is also a perfect place to host wedding destinations and MICE tourism. Off beat new destinations such as Gurez, Doodhpatni, Bungus, Patni Top etc are top tourist attractions , Sonemarg, as usual, attracts lots of tourists and has remained open both in summer and in winter seasons.
Infact, the G-20 meeting at Srinagar played a major role in repositioning Jammu and Kashmir once again on the Global Tourism map and the foreign tourist footfall had increased immensely since then. J& K is an all season tourism state and travelers enjoy different colours and different weather conditions in different seasons.
Meanwhile the union ministry of civil aviation, has already issued a notification today regarding connectivity from Srinagar to other cities in the country.
“ In the aftermath of the incident in Pahalgam, there is an unexpected demand from tourists seeking to return to their homes. In this regard, the airlines are advised to take swift action to increase the number of flights in response to heightened demand and also to ensure uninterrupted connectivity from Srinagar to various destinations across India, facilitating evacuation of stranded tourists,” MoCA has stated.
Mr. Ahsan Ul Haq, officer in charge of Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Office in Dharmatala in Kolkata remained busy throughout the day today coordinating with the families and states for deportation of the bodies after completion of post mortem and identification by the family members from Tourism headquarters in Srinagar.
The coffins of Mr. Bitan Adhikari and Mr. Samir Guha of Kolkata have reached Dumdum airport along with their family members this evening from Srinagar. All the families are still in a state of trauma. The dead body of IB official, Manish Ranjan Mishra from Jhalda in Purulia will reach Ranchi airport later in the evening.
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