JK gov't to launch intense campaign to attract tourists: CM

Srinagar:  Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said today that her government will launch an intense promotional campaign to attract more tourists as the state’s negative portrayal was hurting the tourism industry. In her address after the screening of a film on Kashmir, she said the state is not just known for its beauty but also for its hospitality.

Hospitality and warmth are ingrained in people’s lives here, she said. She cited the response of Kashmiri people after an attack on Amarnath Yatris in July, who thronged hospitals to donate blood and even hit the streets to condemn the attack.

In another incident, she said, a shikarawallah lost his life while saving his guests. “These are the empirical evidences of this hospitality,” she said, urging the media to promote these aspects of Kashmir.

Mehbooba regretted that the negative portrayal of Kashmir has affected the tourism industry of the state. She said her government would be launching an intense promotional campaign to persuade people to visit the state.

The film – The Warmest Place on Earth – has been produced by Jaibeer Ahmad for J Walter Thompson producers and it brings to fore the hospitable, warm and spiritually rooted nature of the people of the place. The screening of the film received a warm reception from the audience.