Early snowfall brings cheer to Gulmarg, but bookings stay low

Baramulla, Oct 6: As the famed Gulmarg tourist resort received the season’s first major snowfall on Monday, north Kashmir’s Baramulla district witnessed a significant dip in temperature.

People were seen donning winter wear, including jackets and warm clothes, to cope with the sudden chill.

However, the snowfall in Gulmarg brought cheer to the faces of visitors.

Most of the tourists said they were not expecting to witness snowfall during this visit. “The snowfall was a huge blessing,” said Rohit, a tourist from Delhi. “We were not expecting it this time. However, when we landed in Gulmarg, we were greeted by snow. It was an amazing experience.”

Similar sentiments were echoed by Aarohi from Gujarat, who witnessed snowfall for the first time in her life.

“Indeed, Kashmir is heaven on earth. I had only seen snowflakes in movies, but feeling them in real life, when they kiss your face and skin, is an experience out of this world,” she said. The early snowfall has raised hopes for a good tourist footfall during the winter season.

Hoteliers and people associated with the tourism trade expressed satisfaction over the early snowfall.

However, they said the tourism sector had still not fully recovered from the Pahalgam tragedy.

A hotelier in Gulmarg said that though the early snowfall had revived hopes about tourist inflow, the overall situation remains discouraging.

“Normally, by this time, hotels would have full bookings till November and December. However, there are no significant bookings as of now, which shows that the tourism sector is yet to recover,  especially after the Pahalgam attack and due to certain campaigns launched by some groups urging people not to visit Kashmir,” he said. “We are hopeful that there will be good tourist footfall this winter, but so far, there has been no forward movement in this direction.”