For first time, hotels being ranked as per available facilities
*Initiative aimed at promoting off-beat destinations
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Aug 22: In order to further promote tourism particularly newly identified off-beat destinations, the Government of Union Territory has decided to conduct national level Tourism Summit in Jammu as well as Srinagar in the next few months. Moreover, for the first time hotels are being ranked as per the available facilities under the Tourism Trade Act.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that though the Tourism Department is regularly participating in Tourism Festivals in different parts of the country in order to promote tourism destinations of Union Territory yet no national level event has been conducted in Jammu and Kashmir during the past several years.
“Recently, the issue came up for deliberations in a high-level meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary Dr Arun Kumar Mehta and accordingly it was decided that in order to further promote tourism in the Union Territory national level Tourism Summit will be conducted in both the regions”, sources said while disclosing that Tourism Department has started an exercise in this regard as large scale arrangements are required to be made for organizing such a big event.
“Though the dates have yet not been finalized for holding the Tourism Summit yet the same is likely to be held either by the end of this year or at the beginning of new year”, sources said, adding “during the Tourism Summit major focus will be on promotion of off-beat tourism destinations in both the regions particularly in Jammu where several destinations for adventure tourism have been identified by the Directorate of Tourism Jammu on the directions of the Government”.
They informed that during the Tourism Summit all the off-beat destinations in both the regions will be showcased to the tourism stakeholders—hoteliers, tour operators, tourism trade bodies etc from different parts of the country. “The Government of J&K UT expects huge investment in the tourism sector following the Tourism Summit of the national level”, they added.
Meanwhile, for the first time in Jammu and Kashmir hotels are going to be ranked as per the available facilities, sources said while disclosing that Chief Secretary has directed the Tourism Department to complete this exercise as early as possible.
“Though there is a provision in the Tourism Trade Act to rank the hotels as per the facilities yet no serious attention was paid on this aspect in the past but the present administration has decided to implement this provision of the Act in the most transparent manner”, sources said.
It is pertinent to mention here that ratings are often used to classify hotels according to their quality. From the initial purpose of informing travelers on basic facilities that can be expected, the objectives of hotel ranking have expanded into a focus on the hotel experience as a whole.
“Whether a customer is looking for a bed for the night or a luxurious experience, comparing hotels based on their rankings can narrow down one’s search according to the features they desire and available price points. They also provide an idea of the level of service to expect upon arrival”, sources said, adding “ranking of the hotels will also help in regulating the prices to be charged from the travelers”.
Moreover, the Chief Secretary has emphasized on expeditious revival of all the identified heritage sites across the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
EXCELSIOR in its edition dated July 3, 2023 had exclusively reported that 31 more heritage sites of Jammu division, which are battling for existence, will shortly get approval for restoration under the Scheme for Revival, Restoration, Preservation and Maintenance of Architecture and Heritage while as work is apace on 18 monuments which were taken up under Phase-I.
“Significant progress has been made on restoration of 18 heritage sites of Jammu division which were taken up under Phase-I of the scheme and hopefully by the end of current year all these sites will be completely preserved and then start attracting tourists, students and research scholars”, sources said, adding “Chief Secretary wants all the pending works to be completed expeditiously so that work on left over sites is started following approval of Executive Committee”.
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