AFTER THE terror attack at Pahalgam in Jammu & Kashmir on April 22 that killed 26 tourists, a major chunk of tourists from West Bengal who earlier planned to vacation in that state are now preferring to go to either Shimla in Himachal Pradesh or Ooty in Tamil Nadu. However, some of those who have already booked a Kashmir trip are opting to wait and watch rather than cancel their booking and face financial loss, travel agents said on Monday.

Anil Punjabi, a National Council member representing eastern India of Travel Agents Federation of India, said, “Many tourists have already booked Kashmir tour in May and June. They are waiting for further directions from the Centre. If the government allows, many among them are ready to visit Kashmir. We did not see a large number of people who wanted to cancel their scheduled Kashmir tour.”

Punjabi added, “On the other hand, some tourists who are yet to firm up plans for the summer vacation… They are preferring other hill stations rather than Kashmir after the terror attack. They are preferring Shimla, Ooty and places in Uttarakhand in the changing scenario.”

Tourism expert Dibyendu Ghosh said, “We have not got many cancellation requests till now. I think tourists are buying time before cancelling their Kashmir tour. However, those who are yet to book a destination are preferring not to book Kashmir. They are mainly giving options such as Shimla and Ooty. Some of them are also preferring other hill stations around Dehradun or Nainital.”

Former president of the Travel Agent Association of India and President of Global Tourism Council, Iqbal Mollah said, “We are facing a huge loss after the terror attack in Kashmir as this year, many tourists’ first preference was to go to Kashmir. We are facing that loss, especially in the case of foreign tourists.”