The Valley hoteliers yesterday said that the tourism infrastructure in Kashmir was in “bad shape” due to a ban on construction works/repairs at tourist spots. “Kashmir has adequate accommodation to host tourists but the hotels are in bad shape due to a ban on construction works/repairs,” the hoteliers said. The hoteliers said that there was need to set up five-star hotels to accommodate high-profile tourists, including foreigners.
“We have 2,000 hotels with 50,000 room capacity in Kashmir, which is sufficient enough to cater to the huge inflow of tourists,” said Showkat Chowdhary, President, Kashmir Hotel and Restaurant Association (KHARA), and Faiz Bakshi, President, Kashmir Hotel and Restaurant Owners Federation (KHAROF). “In 2012, we accommodated more than 12 lakh tourists and there was no space crunch,” they said.
Chowdhary said the two |