{"id":5506,"date":"2025-11-29T19:36:44","date_gmt":"2025-11-29T19:36:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/?p=5506"},"modified":"2025-11-29T19:36:44","modified_gmt":"2025-11-29T19:36:44","slug":"jk-govt-to-develop-nine-new-sustainable-tourism-destinations-cm-omar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/2025\/11\/29\/jk-govt-to-develop-nine-new-sustainable-tourism-destinations-cm-omar\/","title":{"rendered":"J&K Govt to develop nine new sustainable tourism destinations: CM Omar"},"content":{"rendered":"

Says tourism or any industry that doesn\u2019t benefit locals will not survive<\/strong><\/p>\n

Launches global tourism network SKAL International in Srinagar<\/strong><\/p>\n

Srinagar, Nov 29 (KNO): Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday said the Jammu and Kashmir government is planning to develop nine new tourism destinations under a sustainability-focused mega project. The new tourism initiative, he said, would be anchored in \u201cenvironmentally responsible development that involves the local community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTourism, or any industry that does not benefit locals, is an industry that will not survive,\u201d CM Abdullah said while launching the Kashmir Chapter of SKAL International, a global travel and tourism network.<\/p>\n

Addressing the inaugural function in Srinagar, the Chief Minister, as per the news agency\u2014Kashmir News Observer (KNO), described the philosophy of SKAL International as \u201cdeeply resonant with Kashmir\u2019s tourism spirit\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at SKAL and you look at tourism in Kashmir, you realise that there are synergies that automatically become apparent. The word SKAL is Nordic, and the translation of those four words is good health, friendship, long life and happiness,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Omar said the organisation\u2019s founding principles reflect the most basic aspirations of human life, going beyond monetary success. \u201cAn organisation whose name comes to symbolise these four important things is not talking about profit or other day-to-day concerns. These are the things we would wish for each other: good health, friendship, long life and happiness,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The Chief Minister highlighted that SKAL\u2019s philosophy of \u201cbusiness with friends\u201d mirrors the spirit of the tourism fraternity in Jammu and Kashmir. \u201cHere, many of my friends in the industry may be in competition with each other, yet they remain friends. They sit together, dine together, respect each other, and that is exactly what SKAL talks about,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Speaking about the resilience of the people of J&K despite recurring challenges, he said, \u201cWe are nothing if not resilient. Yes, there is darkness, but it will not remain forever. Winters last for a few months; after that, snow melts and spring arrives. My desire, my wish and my effort is that this spring lasts for years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reflecting on the past turbulence in the tourism sector, CM Abdullah said, \u201cWe have seen a lot of ups and downs in J&K tourism. Now I want you to see only the upward trend. The relationship between SKAL and Kashmir Tourism formalised today will benefit both SKAL and the tourism industry here.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Chief Minister thanked SKAL International and its leadership for choosing Kashmir for the new chapter, expressing hope that this marks the beginning of a lasting, fruitful partnership. \u201cI hope this will be a great start to a new relationship, and that we will get to host such programmes again and again. You came and encouraged us,\u201d he added. (KNO)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Says tourism or any industry that doesn\u2019t benefit locals will not survive Launches global tourism network SKAL International in Srinagar Srinagar, Nov 29 (KNO): Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday said the Jammu and Kashmir government is planning to develop nine new tourism destinations under a sustainability-focused mega project. The new tourism initiative, he said, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5507,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-news","category-kt-front"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5506"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5506\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5508,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5506\/revisions\/5508"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}