New Year vacations: Gulmarg hotels fully booked; Sonamarg, Pahalgam, Doodhpathri partially; Yusmarg negligible

By: Rehan Qayoom Mir

Srinagar: As the holiday season and the festival of New Year and Christmas approach, tourist destinations in Kashmir have recorded varied booking trends among tourists who plan to celebrate a joyful and dreamlike holiday in the snowy valley.

Gulmarg, known for its snow-covered landscapes, has already sold out for New Year, which reflects its continued popularity among visitors, several hotel owners and travel agents, who spoke with the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), said.

The hotel owners from Kashmir’s famous tourist destinations and tour and travel agents said the bookings for the New Year celebration in the valley have been sold out at Gulmarg. They, however, said the bookings for Christmas at the ski resort and other places remain significantly lower, as is the case with other favourite destinations.

A hotel owner at Gulmarg said the bookings for New Year have been all packed. “Not even a single room is left vacant,” he said, adding that for Christmas, the bookings are open and very low this year.

At the famous destination – Pahalgam, a hotel owner said they have witnessed a good response for New Year bookings. He also said Christmas reservations have been limited. Similar views were expressed by many other hoteliers in Pahalgam.

At Sonamarg, a hotel owner said they have seen very low bookings this year for both festivals. “We are observing nearly 70 to 80% occupancy for the holiday period, which is lower than previous years,” he said.

Meanwhile, Doodhpathri has also experienced a rise in visitors following the recent snowfall. “A hotel owner at Doodhpathri said footfall at the destination is expected to increase further during Christmas and New Year celebrations,” he said.

JKTDC officials told Ziraat Times  that for Yusmarg, which has a small private hotel accomodatiom and some JKTDC rooms, New Year bookings are negligible.

Several other tour and travel agents said Gulmarg and Pahalgam have been sold out for New Year.

Houseboats in Srinagar are mostly vacant; however, their owners expect them to be packed for New Year festivities.

The recent snowfall at tourist destinations has added to the festive spirit, with tourism stakeholders  hoping for a rise in bookings across all destinations as the holidays draw closer. —(KNO)