The hike in airfares has made jittery the hospitality sector stakeholders here fearing it will affect tourism arrivals to Kashmir. 

The tourism players in the valley alleged that the airliners operating flights on Kashmir route, hiked the fares at a time when the tourist rush to the Valley had started picking up as per a report in Greaterkashmir.

They said the airliners had hiked the future fares that would affect the arrivals in the upcoming season.  “The travel websites display steep hike in airfares on the Valley route in the upcoming months,” they said.

President Travel Agents Association Kashmir (TAAK), Rauf Tramboo said: “The airlines more often than not increase the fares during tourism season. We are receiving calls from travel agents from different parts of the country about booking cancellations by tourists because of high travel expenses.”

He added: “Throughout the year we promote the Kashmir tourism in all parts of world, so that we can attract more and more tourists. But arbitrary fare hikes by the carriers affect our prospective business opportunities.” 

Tramboo said they had approached the airlines raising the issue with them “but to no avail.”

Chairman, Houseboat Owners’ Association (HBOA), Muhammad Azim Tuman said: “It is very unfortunate that the low fare air carriers have hiked fares for the upcoming tourism season. As they are aware that many tourists avoid travelling by road on Srinagar – Jammu highway, they cash the situation and hike the fares. ”

However, it is a common practice everywhere in the world to raise the airfares, hotel rates & the houseboat tariff including the transport & car hire charges during the tourist season. The associations & the stakeholders should look internally as well as dwell on the various other ways which is in their control to decrease the increasing costs borne by the tourists during each tourist seasons so as to make tourism affordable to the common man & have a win-win-win situation for everyone.