Kashmir News: You might be planning to visit Kashmir to enjoy beautiful pastures while riding a Shikara in the cool breeze and escaping the scorching sun. But this will definitely put a dent on your pocket.
Kashmir News: You might be planning to visit Kashmir to enjoy beautiful pastures, ride a Shikara in the cool breeze and escape the scorching sun. But it will definitely cost you a lot. Air travel to Kashmir has become a luxury. The surge in air fares has made the air fare to Kashmir higher than the fares of some international flights. The exorbitantly high ticket prices are not only deterring tourists from coming but are also weighing heavy on the pockets of locals who have to travel to other parts of the country from Srinagar.
Air travel is spoiling the pocket budget
Despite the increase in the number of flights per day at Srinagar airport, which has now increased to more than 100, the increase in fares has made air travel difficult and is acting as a deterrent for tourists coming here. The average airfare from Delhi to the winter capital Srinagar has increased from Rs 4,000-5,000 to Rs 8000-15,000. A huge increase in rents has been observed in other cities of India too.
Excessive increase in air fares
Tourist businessmen are very angry, expressing displeasure over the exorbitant increase in air fares. They say that the government should take strict action against those responsible for this arbitrary price. They say that air tickets to Kashmir are now more expensive than flights to many Gulf countries. They say that we promote tourism throughout the year, but these air fares have become more expensive than foreign tourist destinations here. The government should intervene to control the prices.
Impact on tour and travel sector
Tour and travel agent Manzoor Pakhtoon said that it is true that during the peak season the air fares increase and many tourists change their plans to visit Kashmir due to this high air fare. When they get cheaper tickets to countries near South Asia, it definitely impacts our business.”
More dependence on air travel
Kashmir is a world famous tourist destination, but it has less connectivity, Kashmir is connected to the rest of the world only by road and air. There is no train connectivity here yet and the road is very tiring and many parts of the road are not in good condition for travel. Therefore, the influx of tourists is mostly dependent on air travel.
..Suddenly the ticket fare became 16000
Tourist Alok and his wife said that I want to say that a month ago when I made the booking, the fare was 6000, but after two days when I checked the tickets of others, the fare was 16000. There is a lot of fluctuation in this, they should fix a limited limit. Those who want to come get discouraged because suddenly the ticket fare became 16000. Everything should be within limits because fare is everything.
Air fare should be close to rail fare..
Ankit Tripathi said that if we have to connect Jammu and Kashmir with the country and if we have to promote tourism, then we have to increase connectivity, there is no railway in Srinagar, we can come only by road, air fare has increased because the influx of people has increased, the fare should be close to the rail fare so that more people come.”
Government should intervene
A parliamentary standing committee on transport, tourism and culture recently submitted a report on the action taken by the government on its recommendations/observations on the issue of fixation of air fares. In the report, the panel said that it has come across many cases where there has been an abnormal increase in air fares especially during festivals or holidays. It believes that self-regulation by airlines has not been effective and also recommended that a mechanism can be developed. Under which DGCA can be given the right to regulate air fares. Currently, air fares are neither fixed nor regulated by the government.
