Kashmir: Ski enthusiasts swarm Gulmarg

As per ski club operators who provide skiing training to skiing enthusiasts said  that they are witnessing a good footfall and their bookings slots are fully occupied till the end of this winter.

The rush of ski tourists is not only making the Gulmarg lively but also bringing good business opportunities to every tourism player after years of slump.

Inayat Ahmed, who runs the Himalayan Ski School in Gulmarg, said that they have been getting a number of bookings since late November.

“Good thing that happened is that locals, as well as domestic tourists, are more into snow adventure now and it has benefited us in many ways. After two years of the COVID slump, people have learned to navigate through covid and enjoy the holidays. We are hoping for more rush in the coming days,”he said.

Shahid Rasool, who runs Gulmarg Ski club, said that since the first week of December the club has witnessed multiple groups from across India, including some foreigners.

“I have hosted over one hundred individuals from across India in November. Although the foreign tourists are not coming due to covid , domestic tourists have kept the business going,” he said.

“We started booking from the first week of November and have sold out till the first week of March,” Shahid said.

As per the official figures from the Tourism department, over 5.13 lakh tourists have visited Kashmir till the end of November last year, including 1,317 foreigners.