THOUSANDS of tourists have begun leaving Kashmir after the gruesome terror attack in Pahalgam on Tuesday, with authorities making all efforts for the safe return of the visitors to their respective home states. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said it was “heartbreaking” to see the exodus of tourists. “It’s heartbreaking to see the exodus of our guests from the valley after yesterday’s tragic terror attack in Pahalgam but at the same time we totally understand why people would want to leave. While DGCA & the Ministry of Civil Aviation are working to organise extra flights, NH-44 between Srinagar & Jammu has been reconnected for traffic in a single direction,” Abdullah posted on X.

 

“I’ve directed the administration to facilitate traffic between Srinagar and Jammu allowing tourist vehicles to leave. This will have to be done in a controlled and organised way because the road is still unstable in places and we are also working hard to clear all the stranded vehicles. We will not be able to permit completely free movement of vehicles at the moment and we hope that everyone will cooperate with us,” he added. People associated with tourist trade said most of the tourists were leaving the Valley due to fear, a day after 26 tourists were killed by terrorists at Baisaran meadows in Pahalgam resort in Anantnag district. “We know tourists have by and large been safe in Kashmir but with such an incident happening here, one cannot expect them to stay back.

 

The cancellations are massive, close to 80 per cent,” Aijaz Ali, a travel operator from Srinagar, said. He said there were cancellations of packages even for next one month. “All the good work over the past several years has gone down the drain. It will take a lot of convincing to bring tourists again to Kashmir,” Ali added. While most tourists are scared, some are staying back. The Civil Aviation Ministry has asked airlines to ensure there is no surge in airfares on the Srinagar route, and airlines will be operating additional flights to the city. Air India and IndiGo will operate a total of four additional flights from Srinagar to the national capital and Mumbai on Wednesday.Airlines have also waived ticket rescheduling and cancellation charges. Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu held an urgent meeting with all airline operators and issued a strong advisory against surge pricing on the Srinagar route.

 

Online travel aggregators said they are working with airlines and hotels to offer free date change and cancellation waivers to travellers. Hospitality industry players expect the terror attack to sow fear in the minds of tourists who were keen to visit J&K. “As per the early observations, flight cancellations jumped 7x, and a drop in future bookings by nearly 40 per cent," said Manjari Singhal, Chief Growth and Business Officer, Cleartrip. MakeMyTrip said its teams are working round the clock with airline and hotel partners to provide flexibility and assistance on bookings/ cancellations.