Chief Secretary, BVR Subrahmanyam Sunday reviewed the upcoming tourism promotional campaigns launched by the Government and overall functioning of the tourism sector in Jammu and Kashmir at a high level meeting here today.
Principal Secretary, Tourism, Navin Choudhary; Director, Tourism Kashmir, Nisar Ahmad Wani; Managing Director, JKTDC, Asgar Hussain; Director, Industries and Commerce, Mahmood A Shah; Director Fisheries besides other officers of the tourism department attended the meeting.
The Chief Secretary stressed on promoting the tourism potential of the State at global level through an attractive marketing campaign and providing marketing platforms for the houseboats and paying guesthouses on separate and dedicated web portals to attract niche clientele.
While appreciating the marketing campaigns carried out by the department in this regard, the Chief Secretary directed the department to launch an exclusive ad campaign for houseboats, which he said, is the USP of Valley’s tourism sector. He said every region of the State has something unique to offer to every class of tourists and the same should be conveyed through these campaigns.
He also stressed on outsourcing the departmental assets to private companies for better operations and commercially viability. This, he said, would also improve the service delivery and ensure a better use of these assets.
The Chief Secretary also directed the Tourism department to incentivize the development of paying guesthouses at offbeat destinations so that tourists can spend extra days in Kashmir by visiting lesser-visited places.
Principal Secretary Tourism informed the meeting that the department is participating in the road shows both within and outside the country besides using outdoor media for massive promotional campaigns to attract more tourists to the State.
During the meeting, Director Tourism Kashmir in a detailed power point presentation gave an overall purview of the tourism department and highlighted the promotional activities that are underway to project J&K as the choicest destination of the country.
The Chief Secretary also inspected the facilitation center set up by the district administration at Tourist Reception Center, Srinagar for the travel agents, hoteliers and students.
