Srinagar Dec 31. 2008.
In the wake of Kashmir's bleeding economy and aborted tourist activity, hoteliers and restaurateurs have started slashing down tariff charges by 30-50 percent to pull back tourists. The hoteliers also termed the recent economic revival package announced by the State Governor NN Vohra as "sheer appeasement of Jammu-based industrialists."

 "Even some of the hoteliers have gone down to give a discount of 70 percent to the tourists," said President of Kashmir Hotel and Restaurant Owners Federation (KHAROF), Latief Ahmad Bhat.

The huge discount on stay packages is an outcome of sluggish tourist season after Amarnath land transfer in June escalated into a major controversy plunging the State tourism to a zero level.

Hoteliers said that the enchanting beauty of the State has remained intact, but the paradise on earth that was Kashmir was left at the mercy of God, immediately after the crisis erupted.

"No serious efforts were made to revive the tourism here in the valley. Our hotels remained empty for the whole summer while the burden of staff, electricity, and other maintenance kept on surging," said Bhat.

Furnishing figures, he said that the fraternity has lost about Rs 103 crores during 87-days of crisis in the State and the latest move is aimed to woo the tourists and reducing the "burden" that is escalating every day. 

KHAROF has almost valley's top hotels and restaurants as its members, while across the valley more than 600 state-of-art hotels and restaurants have been catering to tourist from the past several decades.

And estimates say that hotel occupancy dropped from 100 percent in June to almost zero in months of November and December across the Valley hitting severely the Kashmir's 31 percent population that depends directly or indirectly on tourism industry.

Meanwhile, hoteliers said that the recent economic revival package announced by the State Governor NN Vohra has nothing in it which could help hoteliers to salvage the losses meted out during the Amarnath land transfer row.

"There is nothing good for the hoteliers in that package," said the association's former President, Ghulam Ahmad Dugg.

In the package, the State government had promised to provide a 3 percent subsidy to all hoteliers from JK Bank for equipping their hotels with modern central heating and air-conditioning systems while the interest subvention was to be provided to the JK Bank against approved and functioning loans. 

"But how does it help our problem. What we are witnessing is the lack of tourists which has nothing to do with the upgradation of our hotels," Dugg said.

He said the package is totally meant for industries where again Jammu can reap the maximum benefit because the region has more industries than the valley.

"The package is simply an appeasement of Jammunities," he added.
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