Srinagar: It has been a dream for 25-year-old Kanishk to visit Kashmir. He has been saving for the last many months to take his family on a Kashmir vacation.
Given the skyrocketing airfare, Kanishk’s savings were falling short for a trip to Kashmir.
A one-way airfare from his hometown in New Delhi to Srinagar costs around Rs 8000 per person.
Kanishk, however, didn’t cancel his trip and instead took a road journey from Jammu to Srinagar. “From New Delhi, I took a train to Jammu and a cab from Jammu to Srinagar. I enjoyed my journey since I came across a beautiful location on the way from Jammu to Srinagar,” he said.
Like Kanishk, Kashmir is currently receiving a good proportion of tourists, who take road trips to Kashmir. This is because the airfare from various destinations to Kashmir has increased exorbitantly.
A cursory look at the airfare chart reveals that a round trip from New Delhi to Srinagar costs more than Rs15000 per person.
Similarly, airfare from other destinations too has hiked by more than 30 percent this summer.
As per travel agents, tourists from north India have been majorly visiting Kashmir by road for the last one month. “There could be two reasons behind the increase in the number of tourists entering the valley via surface traffic. One is the hike in the airfare and second, the road condition from Jammu to Srinagar has considerably enhanced now,” Farooq Kuthoo, former president of the Travel Agents Association of Kashmir said.
He said they expect further growth in tourist arrivals through road journeys with the start of Srinagar-Jammu train services. “The airfare will be regulated as the government starts train services from Srinagar-Jammu. Road trips have even become a trend now. We have been receiving a lot of tourists who hire vehicles and bikes for a road trip from Jammu to Srinagar now,” Kuthoo said.
Javed Ahmad Khan, a private transporter also said the road trips have become a popular choice given the hike in airfare.
“We’ve seen more than 40% increase in road trip inquiries over the past two months. Tourists are looking for cost-effective ways to explore Kashmir, and road trips are becoming increasingly popular. They reach Jammu by train and book a vehicle from the transporter to reach Kashmir and explore various destinations,” he said.
