National Geographic channel has produced a promotional film showcasing the varied tourism potential of Jammu and Kashmir. "The State Tourism department in association with the Union Ministry of Tourism is in the process of making a promotional film.

Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister (CM), Jammu and Kashmir has said that nearly 4.5 lakh tourists have visited Kashmir Valley in the last five months. The Valley has been witnessing a huge rush of tourists with hotels booked to the full and the resorts across the Valley jam-packed. The CM said cultural activities should be showcased to the tourists.

The Jammu & Kashmir Environment Department has pushed a proposal to the government for constituting a J&K Eco-Tourism Board to recommend measures and identify potential sites for promotion of Eco-Tourism in the state. Sources said the proposal was under the consideration of the General Administration Department (GAD) and a final decision in this regard was likely to be taken in near future. As per a report by Greater Kashmir,

According to Nawang Rigzin Jora, Minister of Tourism, Jammu & Kashmir, the current focus of the State government is to increase the average stay of tourists from the current five to six days to at least 20 days. In order to achieve that, the Minister said that the state has to develop more products and make areas accessible for tourists which are currently inaccessible.

With the upgradation of the facilities and services in a phased manner, the Jammu airport would soon be converted into an international airport, Jammu divisional commissioner Sudhanshu Pandey said on Tuesday.



"Under the upgradation plans, the runway would be extended by another 1,300 feet towards the direction of Tawi,'' Mr Pandey said, who presided over a meeting of officials from Airport Authority of India, the army, the Air Force and civil administration h ere yesterday.

Modalities will be worked out to transfer land belonging to army and civil structures to Airport Authority of India (AII), he added. Separate parking space for incoming and outgoing passengers would be created.

"This would be done by extending the existing one and constructing a new parking lot in the vicinity,'' he said. Keeping in view the security of passengers, a gate would be erected on the front side of the airport.

02/10/07 Business Line