Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 13: The Government of Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory should take every possible measure to boost the tourism potential of Jammu region as nearly 20 lakh people visit every year in the Jhiri area of Jammu district.
This was stated by Bharat Bhushan Bodhi, DDC Chairman Jammu in a statement issued to media persons here today.
The DDC Chairman said that the Jammu Province has been gifted by nature with splendid topography, ambience, spiritual sites and pristine valleys and hills, thus making it necessary to showcase all these in a better way through promoting the same by introducing new tourist circuits as is the case for many places in Kashmir.
Bharat Bhushan said that there is dire need to bring Jhiri, Showa Mata, Sui Mandir, Purmandal, Utter Behni, Baba Kailakh Nath and many other pilgrimage sites on tourism circuit in Jammu region. He said that nearly 20 lakh people visited the Jhiri Mela every year with the government taking extraordinary interest in providing state of the art facilities to the visiting devotees.
“It is then only we will be able to cater to the various demands of the tourists and exploit the full potential that nature has bestowed upon Jammu Province”, he said.
Bharat Bhushan said that the nullification of Article 370 has raised hopes of the people that Jammu Province will come out of the shadow of Kashmir and shall be promoted as an independent tourist destination.
“Kashmir had reportedly received over 1.6 crore tourists in the year 2022 of which 95% were leisure and 5% pilgrims, but in Jammu region the scenario is exactly opposite with 98% pilgrims and 2% leisure thus making it necessary to sway these 98 percent of the visitors to become part and parcel of leisure tourism as well because this could prove to be the game changer for the region as far as socio-economic condition is concerned”, he said adding that the abysmal situation of tourism in J&K is due to the phlegmatic attitude shown by the successive Governments in the past.
He demanded that all the significant religious destinations of the region should be brought on the religious tourism circuit as soon as possible to boost the tourism in Jammu as the region is facing so many problems due to lack of opportunities to the people.
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