Germany may modify travel advisory to Kashmir tourists

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Germany may modify travel advisory to Kashmir tourists - Indian Express

Germany is considering modifying its negative advisory to its citizens on travel to Kashmir in order to boost tourism and trade in the Valley.

“I am here to assess the situation and look at the possibility of modifying the travel advisory,” German Ambassador to India Thomas Matussek told PTI.

Matussek, who arrived here today on a two-day visit, said the situation in the Valley seemed to be normal.

“Kashmir today is as peaceful and beautiful as I saw it when I first visited in 1982-83,” he said.

The German ambassador said he will interact with both mainstream and separatist leaders besides people associated with trade to get a feed back about the ground situation in Kashmir.

“I have already met Governor N N Vohra while I will be meeting Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, (Hurriyat Chairman) Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, Kashmiri pandits and the local chamber of commerce,” he said.

Matussek said he was looking forward to forging a partnership between German businessmen and locals in sectors like fruit packing, fruit processing, travel, tourism, woodcarving and hospital equipment.

“We are already working in Jammu and Ladakh regions of the state but we would like to be involved in business and travel sectors in Kashmir Valley as well,” he said.

Meanwhile, during his meeting with Vohra, Matussek discussed the possibilities of assisting and establishing economically viable units in the state, an official spokesman said.

The German Ambassador discussed various possibilities of entrepreneurs from his country assisting business, industry and commerce to establish economically viable units in the state, the spokesman said.

 

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West return hope rises in Valley

Srinagar, June 23: Kashmir’s long wait for western tourists, which started after six foreigners were kidnapped in 1995 by a militant group that counted in its ranks the man who years later went on to kill journalist Daniel Pearl, might be nearing its end.

Germany has promised to revisit an advisory against travelling to the state, issued after the kidnappings. “If things stay the way I have seen it today, I am very optimistic that we can do something about it (travel advisories),” German ambassador Thomas Matussek said today during a visit to the state.

“I think it (travel advisories) plays a role. If you plan a holiday and you look at a travel advisory where the German government is advising you not to go to certain places, you think twice. The wonderful hospitality I have personally experienced is certainly a big boon. This, combined with beauty of the landscape and the rich cultural heritage, makes it (the Valley) an ideal holiday destination for Germans,” he said.

If it does withdraw the advisory, Germany will be the first western nation to do so.

Farooq Ahmad Shah, the director of the Jammu and Kashmir government’s tourism department, said 7.36 lakh tourists — not including the 4.5 lakh Amarnath pilgrims — visited the Valley last year, of whom 25,000 were foreigners. “But they (foreigners) were mostly from Southeast Asia. The number of tourists coming from western countries is very small,” he said.

Shah said if Germany revisits the travel advisory, other countries could follow. “This would be great for our tourism,” he said.

Most European countries, including the UK and France, and the US had issued advisories against visiting Kashmir after the six foreign tourists were abducted by militant outfit Al Faran, believed to be a front of the Harkatul Mujahideen, in 1995.

One of them, Norwegian Hans Christian Ostro, was beheaded. Four others — American Donald Hutchings, Britons Paul Wells and Keith Mangan, and a German Dirk Hasart — were never traced and were given up for dead. A second American, John Chides, escaped.

The militants were demanding the release of Harkat chief Masood Azhar and several other militants but the government had refused to give in.

Azhar and fellow Harkat militant Sheikh Omar, who has been sentenced to death for beheading Wall Street journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002, were freed and granted safe passage to Kandahar in December 1999 to secure the release of passengers on board the hijacked flight IC-814.

Even before the 1995 kidnappings, Sheikh Omar, then an unknown name, had abducted four foreigners in Delhi in 1994. The hostages were rescued and Omar was jailed.

Before the rise of militancy in the 1990s, tourists from the West would visit Kashmir in large numbers.

Official sources said around 7 lakh tourists had visited Kashmir in 1989, of whom 67,000 were travellers from the West.

Domestic tourists began returning to Kashmir in the late 1990s but three massive agitations during the last three years again dealt a heavy blow to tourism.

In the Valley, businessmen linked to the tourism industry do not agree with the government’s count of over 7 lakh travellers. They cite the five-month agitation from last June when almost all of the Valley was shut.

Nobody appears to be complaining this year, though. “We are hopeful of breaking all the past records. This year, the (hotel) occupancy is around 90 per cent and we are hopeful it will shoot to 100 per cent soon,” Manzoor Wangnoo, the president of the Houseboat Owners Association, said.

Many tourists prefer to stay in the 1,200 houseboats in the Dal Lake.

“The tourists from West were high-end and contributed significantly to our income. The domestic tourists have emerged as the backbone of our industry but if foreigners also start returning, then there is nothing like it,” he said.