KV Network

No headway

No headway
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Tourism trade in Kashmir has been on the receiving end. Not only have the tourist footfall decreased tremendously over the past three years but the government’s attitude in helping out the trade and the people associated with it, too have been pathetic.
It is beyond any doubt that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime has had a negative impact on the economy of entire Jammu and Kashmir. The effect of this new tax regime have been far more harsh on tourism industry as the new tax regime has left a deep impact on the sourcing of products and materials in the state.
The concerns of the tourism trade had even got an approval by a parliamentary panel in December last which spelled that the GST and the negative public campaign unleashed by various quarters against the region is killing tourism trade in Kashmir.
Unlike other states, residents of Jammu and Kashmir and its business owners spend huge amounts of money on procuring essentials, most of which have to be flown in, which increases their capital expenditure.
While the GST regime was set into motion least consideration was given to the sensitive nature of Jammu and Kashmir state. The abrupt implementation of GST on tourism in the region resulted in manifold effects, mostly negative on the overall economy of the state and the tourism trade in particular.
The GST impact was so harsh on tourism trade that small business owners of small-scale hotels and home stays cannot list their properties on various travel intermediary websites as there is a levy of 18 per cent of GST, which cuts across the little profit they make, making their venture unsustainable.
The GST implementation in Jammu and Kashmir should have been done in a cautious and phased manner in order to ensure that the delicate state of tourism in the region is not adversely affected. Worse, the federal government or the state government did not even bother to take on board the stake holders or their concerns when a draft policy was being formed on the GST.
After the issue was flagged by a parliamentary panel, the federal as well as the state government should have taken a call on this report and should have come out with some policy to avert any fresh loss to the tourism industry in Jammu and Kashmir.
The parliamentary committee also expressed worry over the negative publicity which it cited as a major hindrance to increasing footfall in the region. This issue has time and again been raised by the elected government and even various trade bodies during the past two years.
Even the incumbent Governor, Satya Pal Malik has been raising this issue that Jammu and Kashmir is being demonized and the TV channels and some section of the media are actively involved in such an exercise.
However, the impact on the tourism sector has been so hard that the efforts are proving to be less favoring. The recommendations made by the parliamentary panel need to be implemented earnestly and the checks and balances mechanism needs to be implemented so that future damage to this core sector can be minimized.


KV Network

Kashmir Vision cover all daily updates for the newspaper

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