SRINAGAR: Amid the raging second wave of Covid-19 in Kashmir Valley, the Tourism department has begun to make preparations for the tourism season once again, albeit with a difference. Secretary, Tourism, Sarmad Hafeez told Kashmir Reader that among the first steps the department will take will be to train all the tourism players in how to operate in Covid times.
“Covid is not going away any time soon. So, we have to prepare ourselves for it. Fundamental to is to train the tourism players. We are designing courses, webinars for it. The Institute of Hotel Management has already been roped in. In webinars, top experts will deliver lectures on related topics. The first course will start next week,” he said.
Hafeez said the courses will focus on how to implement the protocols for safe tourism. “This is important because as situations change, because of fluctuations in Covid-19 cases, new protocols have to be adopted immediately. This means, the players should be highly trained to adapt to the change,” he said.
“This is a lean period for tourism. We want to make good use of it, so that once the lockdown is over, we should be able to operate tourism safely,” he added.
Tourism is the mainstay of the Kashmir economy, the source of many people’s day-to-day expenses. Early this year, when Kashmir was at the end of the first wave, a huge number of tourists had begun to visit the valley. Hotels at many destinations were booked till July. However, as the second wave began in April, the tourist arrivals abruptly stopped.
Hafeez rejected the theory that a boom in tourism in the spring season was the cause of the second wave in Kashmir. “And it is absolutely not because of this that the courses are being offered; it is only for preparing for the future,” he said. “We are readying for a tourism boom in the valley post the Covid lockdown.”
Helpline numbers have already been issued by the tourism department for the smooth functioning of the courses, and to answer queries from tourism players.
A senior hotelier told Kashmir Reader that complacent approach and undefined protocols for allowing entry of tourists early this year contributed to spike in Covid graph.
He said right now they do not have a proper awareness about handling a Covid-19 positive tourist. “But I hope the course includes all these things,” he added.
President of Kashmir Hoteliers and Restaurant Association (KHARA) Abdul Wahid Malik welcomed it saying will benefit the tourism sector. He said that a similar model was adopted by Maldives, Dubai and Singapore where tourists arrive amid the pandemic.

Junaid Nabi Bazaz