Srinagar, July 11: After MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) tourism, Kashmir is all set to witness a new tourism boom – wedding tourism.
Observing this here on Tuesday, Mushtaq Ahmad Chaya, a prominent hotelier and the chairman of J&K Hoteliers Club, said that in view of a drop in bookings from June’s peak, the government agencies should disseminate more information to big corporate houses to hold their events in Kashmir.
Echoing this, other hoteliers in Kashmir have also urged the government to hold big corporate events in the valley to boost tourism during the monsoon season.
Remarking that the hotels were jam-packed until June, hoteliers say that the peak booking season has now declined due to the arrival of monsoons and the end of holidays.
“The next three months will be on the lower side, as far as the hotel bookings are concerned, but the government can emphasize and ask the bigger corporate houses to hold their MICE events in the valley,” Mr Chaya further said while talking to news agency KNO.
“Not just the MICE events, the next few months can turn the valley into a top wedding destination. That is a new big thing coming to Kashmir now,” he added.
Mr Chaya said that the hotel industry has not yet experienced any shortage of space in terms of the availability of rooms for visitors. Even homestay facilities have not yet reached full-scale occupancy, he added.
J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha earlier this week said that Srinagar was jam-packed with tourists and that he is getting calls about the availability of rooms almost every day.
“Last year, 1.88 crore tourists visited J&K, and, this year, the number is expected to increase further,” he said. “The hotel infrastructure will come up at district level too besides at the tourist resorts of the UT”, he added.
About MICE Tourism
MICE tourism stands for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions. It is a type of tourism that involves people traveling to a destination for business purposes. MICE tourism is gaining more popularity in Kashmir and can be a major source of revenue for the valley, and it can also help to create jobs and boost the local economy.
About Wedding Tourism
As Instagram and other social media is setting the new trend of capturing wedding memories in dream places like Kashmir, wedding tourism is gaining popularity in Kashmir. It is a type of tourism that involves people traveling to a destination to get married.
– KNO (With additional Ziraat Times inputs)
