Introduction: Tourism in broader terms denotes, "The temporary, short term movement of people to destination outside the place where they normally live and work and their activities during their stay at these destinations," 'Tourism embraces all movement of people outside their community for all purposes except migration or regular daily work' True, 'the prime motive of tourist is pleasure and leisure' but under its umbrella it contains various and variegated modes of travel. Largely these are religious tourism, educational tourism, cultural tourism, social and adventure tourism. The concepts of tourism over a period of time have undergone a sea change. India is fully conscious of the import of this new emerging global economy. Our policy planners at the national level fully understand that tapping this resource is very vital for the growth and development of the country. The tourism policy 2002 has been drafted in global perspective. This new policy which is to be implemented during the Tenth Plan apart from 'generating a number of social and economic benefits, promoting national integration, refining international understanding aims at mobilizing "the state governments to use tourism as means for achieving their socio-economic objectives, encourage the private sector to enhance investment in tourism and provide legislative and regulatory support for sustainable tourism." The Tourism policy 2002 holds out, "It would be the policy of the Government to facilitate larger flow of funds to tourism infrastructure and to create a Tourism Development Fund to bridge critical infrastructural gaps. Priority would be given for development of tourist infrastructure in selected areas of tourist importance and for those products which are considered to be in demand in the existing and future markets so that limited resources are put to the best use."5 The policy among other measures refers to creating of Tourism Economic Zones, Tourist Circuits, Special Tourism Areas and Areas of special interests. It states;

(a) Tourism Economic Zones will be created with private participation based on the intrinsic attractions, potential for development and availability of resources in these zones. Air, road and rail connectivity to these areas will be established to facilitate direct and easy access to these zones from international and domestic destinations. Adequate backward and forward linkages will also be established to ensure flow of benefits to the local community. The development of such zones will be guided by well conceived Master Plans and executed by specific Tourism Development Authorities which will be created by the Government involving senior officers from the Department of Tourism, and other relevant Ministries/Departments of the Govt. of India, professionals from tourism industry and representatives of Industry & Trade Associations

(b) India with vast cultural and religious heritage and varied natural attractions has immense potential of growth in the tourism sector. 25 travel circuits and destinations have already been identified for development through joint efforts of the Central Govt., the State Governments and the private sector. State Governments of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Orissa and Maharashtra and Union Territory Administration of Daman & Diu have also declared Bekal Beach, Puri-Konark, Sindhudurg, Muttakadu-Mamallapuram and Diu as Special Tourism Area for integrated development. Steps will be taken to work towards the integrated development of all the tourist circuits of the country with the involvement of all the infrastructural departments, State Governments and the private sector.

(c) Areas of Special Interest Government would initiate and support special programmes and schemes for the development of tourism in North Eastern States, Himalayan region and island States/U.Ts with a view to achieve overall economic development of the regions, and as part of the strategy for removing regional imbalances. Notwithstanding the fact Jammu and Kashmir has been traditionally a tourist state it does not figure amongst 25 travel circuits and destinations identified in the new policy. Before I come to my basic premise whether tourism should be priority with the state or not or should we identify an alternative sector for improving economy of the State. I believe filliping pages of our Tourism history would enable us to understand the issues concerned with the industry in their historical perspective. History Jammu and Kashmir, particularly the valley of Kashmir has been a traveler's destination from times immemorial. It has been a seat of great learning and attracted scholars, sages and savants from all parts of India and neigbouring countries. "From early times, scholars and students trekked all along to Kashmir to complete their higher studies in Sanskrit. Probably they received Patras or certificates by the then Sanskrit universities of Kashmir. The great seats of Sanskrit learning were at SARDA, now in Pakistan and at Vijeshwara, the present day Bijbehra." History testifies that the number of visitors to this Paradise on earth during the early Hindu period for attaining knowledge was quite good; number of hostels and vihars were erected for housing the scholars and their families. "Queen Amrita Prabha caused a lofty vihara called Amrita Bhavan to be erected for the benefit of foreign students. King Yasaskara (938-48) fond of endowments built Matha for students from Arya Desha, who had devoted themselves to knowledge." Besides, attracting people in pursuit of knowledge "Kashmir attracted every year huge crowds of pilgrims to its famous tirthas like the sacred cave of Amarnath Ji, the Martand, Saradipitha, Kapalamochan, the spring of Paparharnnag and other sacred places." Kashmir attracted people from far and distant countries like Greece and Egypt during the Buddhist period. 'Emperor Ashoka's rule in Kashmir is the greatest landmark in the history of this land.' "He had established friendly intercourse with Greece and Egypt, and it is to this connection that the introduction of stone architecture and sculpture of Kashmir is due"9 It is the time when Srinagar founded by Ashoka had "ninety six lakh houses, resplendent with wealth" There is a reference to holding of the Buddhist conference in Kashmir during the period of Kanishka (78 A.D). "Under his patronage third council of Buddhist Church was held, which carried on its deliberations Khandalvan vihar near Harwan in Kashmir about 100 A.D. under the presidency of Nagarjuna." This conference brought Kashmir under sharp focus and attracted scholars. Advent of Islam is another important milestone in the history of travel and tourism in Kashmir. It opened up the State to the Central Asia. It was not only the religious leaders and Sufi's from the Central Asia that frequented to this land to spread Islam but flocks of traders, craftsmen, artisans and skilled workers also descended on this Elysian land. Equally Kashmirs also traveled to the neighboring Countries. 'Kashmiri merchants-activities were not confined to the valley alone but extended as far as Bengal, the Coromomandel coast, Lhasa, Peking, Persia and Central Asia.' Muslim scholars from Central Asia and other neighboring States arrived in the beautiful saucer shaped vale to attain Knowledge. During the period of the Sultans scores of Madrassas, colleges and universities were established with official patronage. These temples of learning have had, 'long rolls of distinguished professors and scholars.' Liberal patronage by Sultan Sikander (1393- 1417) "attracted learned from Iraq and Khorasan and Mavaran-un-Nahr to his court that it became an example to the courts of other provinces. Near his Jami Masjid he built a college which was known as college of Jami Masjid, attached to this college was a hostel." During the Mughal rule Kashmir further opened up to visitors and travelers. 'Number of inns sarais were built on highway and long roads. In which travelers and traders could pass the night in comparative security.' Whether the arrival of scholars, traders, artisans, pilgrims and missionaries could be termed tourism in strict sense or not is a matter of debate. It was in fact in the nineteenth century that 'tourism produced far reaching effect on the economy of Kashmir.' "Beginning with handful of visitors who made the trip to Kashmir by relays of tonga, the tourist influx swelled into a stream till it became the mainstay of income to a large chunk of population."14 'It was in 1850, during Gulab Singh's rule that the number of European officers visiting Kashmir started increasing.' "The number of tourist increased from 200 in 1856 to upward of 400 in 1864."15 The arrival of European tourists generated tourist trade. Gulmarg became summer resort and house boat took a shape. An office was set up and an officer was appointed to look after tourism. "By and by this office gained importance and with increasing work load a regular office was set up and designated as visitor's bureau."16 The European travelers, tourists and writers played a conspicuous role in making Kashmir a tourist destination. After departure of the British from India and end of Dogra rule in Jammu and Kashmir tourism received an impetus and vigorous drive was launched to attract domestic and international tourists towards the State. Tourism was identified as a priority sector for development. An impression was given 'that the economy of Jammu and Kashmir and particularly that of valley depended on tourism. Huge investments were made in this sector.It was as results of efforts of the State Government that starting from a humble As could be made from the above chart, there have been both troughs and crests in the tourist inflow. The flow of tourism to the state is directly related to political stability in the state. There are umpteen instances in our tourism history to substantiate this proposition. The political developments of 1953 gave a set back to this industry. The efforts made to boost this sector in late fifties and early sixties through the medium of festivals like 'Jashan-e-Kashmir' and 'Shab¬i-Shalimar' were brought to naught first during the India-china War, then the Holy Relic Movement of 1964 took a toll, followed by the students agitation and 1965 developments that culminated into India-Pakistan Pakistan armies colliding. In 1982 it touched an impressive figure of 603 thousand and the political developments in the State in 1983 adversely effected tourism and in 1984 it the figure dipped to 229.14 thousand. Again in 1988 it reached to a colossal figure of 722 thousands and in 1990 it dropped to 10.72 thousands. Tourism economy by all standards is 'peace economy', a conditioned economy, very fragile and delicately brittle. It would be a misnomer to call this economy a 'sustainable economy'. "According to the World Commission on Economic Development (WCED) Report 1987, 'Our Common Future', sustainable development is defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." The question arises what kind of economic activity was generated with inflow of tourist to the State. And, if this industry has been in a position to meet our present requirements and have we not bartered away our future for the peanut gains that have been trickling out of it. The Godble report states, "Although the direct share of the tourism in SDP has ranged between 6 to 8 percent at (1980¬81 prices) between 1980- 89, the indirect benefit to the economy of the State flowing from tourism are considerable." 18 Another opinion is "In macro terms, tourism contributes no more than 10 to 12 % of the total net domestic state product, which is to say that almost 90 % of the state product comes from sectors other than tourism." "Reliable data are not available about income generated and employment effects of tourism. According to an estimate by the Tata Consultancy Services, Bombay tourism contributed Rs.320 crores." Nothing is known about the methodology adopted by the Consultancy for this study but there is every reason to believe that it has also subscribed to the traditional view that earnings from handicrafts are related to the inflow of tourist in the State. As can be made out from the figures below a good chunk of the State's plan funds have been pumped into this sector. And lots more have gone into it on the non-plan side and in the shape of private investment. There are equally no figures available with regard to private investments that have gone into construction of hotels, guesthouses, houseboats and purchase of tourism related transport etc. The huge investments that have gone into this sector both at the State and private levels pose a couple of questions. Has this investment really contributed in the welfare of the State? If it is so, what is the extent of that contribution? Second, if the same investment had been made in some other sector, what would have been its import on the State economy? If the extent of development would have been the same or greater? If the inflow of tourist is an indicator of the income generated from this sector then it does not match up with the investments made in this sector. From 1951 to 1988 the tourist inflow has increased by 6724.19 percent and the expenditure (plan) during the same period has increased by 15,146.16 percent. It does not include non-plan expenditure and private investments that have been ploughed into this sector. By conservative estimates, if we take the private investments at par with the plan expenditure it would come to about thirty thousands percent that in other words would mean that for making an earning of six thousands we have been investing thirty thousand. In this estimation I have reckoned for only the period from 1951 to 1988, and not for the period beyond 1990 when this industry totally crumbled in the State. Even if we take relatively trouble free and peaceful period for our calculations, when tourism in the State was at its pinnacle viz 1974 to 1989, the picture is again gloomy and proves the hypothesis that investments that have gone into this sector do not commensurate with the dividends it has yielded. Against an increase of 290.73 percent tourist during the period the investment had gone up by 1753.78 percent. Lose-lose Situation True, the Tenth Plan lays emphasis on preserving environment and redefines the role of the States, "The State can also play an effective role in ensuring that tourism development does not harm the environment. The interaction between tourism and environment pollution requires sensitive handling. There is comp-lementarity, not conflict between the high quality environmental requirements of tourism and imperatives of maintaining the ecological balance."21 Notwithstanding the importance that is being attached to Eco-tourism the fact of the matter is that tourism in its trail brought devastation to the environment of the State. Let us take Dal Lake; one of the most important factors that have destroyed this water body has been tourism. It is this industry that has been catalytic in the multiplication of house boats, construction of huge hotels, guest houses around this lake. But for its tourism potential lot of human activity got generated around the lake resulting in increase in number of habitations around it. Emergence of shanties around the lake and its catchments areas are direct consequences of tourism. But for the increase of human activity of such a magnitude the Dal Lake would not have suffered such devastation. It would not have reached to the stage of extinction. Its problems like sedimentation could have been checked by putting checks in the tributaries that feed this lake. It would not be out of context to state that the preservation and restoration of Dal Lake has been siphoning the State economy and so far billions have been spent on Dal Development projrcts. Same is true of Gulmarg and Phalgam. The salubrious and seductive valley of Gulmarg is fast dying. The unimaginative constructions of huge concrete structure in rash clash with its magnificence and beauty. To me the concrete structure inside Gulmarg look like black warts and pox marks on the rubicund face of a beau…. To me it is now a belle laide. It has been but for opening this great valley of soaring cedars, lofty mountains and heraldic blue skies that its beauty has been destroyed. Same is true of Lidder valley. This beautiful valley of cascading waterfalls and haughty waters has been converted into a eighteenth century British township. Another myth that the state has been nursing and fondling for past five decades has been the employment potential of this industry. It is difficult to state the exact number of people employed directly in this sector. Estimates suggest that about 40000 persons are directly engaged in this sector. And bulk of the employment in this sector is 'low-skill, relatively low wages, like shikara, pony wallah, porters, waiters, cooks and waiters.' It is not an employment that cannot be dispensed with. These unskilled or low-skilled people can very comfortably switch over to alternative jobs perhaps even more lucrative. "Further, it is also important this is really seasonal employment for about 120 days in the year."22 The thirteen years turmoil has driven majority of the people associated with this industry towards alternative occupations and some have undoubtedly done well in the new fields. The affluent from the boatmen community have invested in handicrafts sectors and established their business in other parts of the country. And majorities are doing very well and have substantially contributed to the exports of handicrafts. It cannot be denied that tourism has helped in the promotion of handicrafts industry in the state but it has been yet another myth that handicrafts development was directly related with the tourist inflow in the state. The Government figures available belie this assumption. The handicrafts export from the State has gone up from Rs.52.62 crores in 1987-88 to Rs.304.00 Crores in 1997-98 that means that there has been an increase of 477.72 percent during past ten years. When tourism in the state during the same period had declined by 4412 percent. Another amazing thing about Planning in the state has been that despite having the experience of the North Eastern States and understanding fully well that insurgencies do not end up overnight but after protracted battles on all fronts. The state has been allocating huge funds for the tourism sector. As could be seen from the above table Rs.9500 lakhs were allocated for tourism sector during the 9th Plan for this sector out of which only Rs.1600 lakhs were spent. And during the tenth plan it has been fixed at 22502 lakhs. Had there been a little bit of imagination the same amount could have been invested in some more revenue yielding sector like an agro-based industries. The economic scenario would have been perhaps different. The past thirteen years have beyond doubt proved that this investment has not been fruitful in as much as economy generated from this sector is concerned. Le me reemphasis that had a similar investment been made in some other more viable sectors that had capacity to suck up political and military shocks the economic scenario of the state would have been far better and promising than it is present. It would also have got anchored to very firm pedestal and perhaps it would require no props from outside. If one believes that a situation like the one that followed 1990 happenings in the State would not have been there even then investing in a sector like tourism in Jammu and Kashmir is not a wise proposition. The State has the highest tourism potential is an illusion. As a tourist destination the State does not figure any where at the international level. Coasts are the greatest tourist attraction perhaps attracting the highest number of tourists and we have no coasts, then there is 'monument tourism', we have no Pyramids, no Taj Mahal, no Konark temples and no Ajanta and Ellora and no casinos and no. The South East Asian Countries offer a different kind of tourism which our society cannot accept. The only tourism that we can offer is 'scenic' that too with minimum possible facilities. This is considered to be the 'sluggish tourism' and very few potential tourists get attracted towards this tourism that Jammu and Kashmir offers. The state has only the potential for attracting middle class domestic tourist with low spending capacity. The State Tourism Department has been laying emphasis on adventure tourism. It is misconceived idea in as much as the political situation in the state is concerned, it is challengeable on two counts: one, given to strategic position of the state it would not advisable to open up the strategic areas of the state to the tourists and two it would not be economically viable venture as the investments that would be required for this kind of activity would not be matching with the income generated. It is a global phenomenon that only a small portion of tourism money trickles down to the tourist destination. "A 1997 study on ecotourism project in Taman Negera, a national park in western Malaysia, conducted by forestry experts Berned Stecker and commissioned by the German GTZ concluded that only tiny proportion of tourism reaches destination in South. As for North American eco-tourists, Stecker found that about two thirds of expenditure go to foreign airlines and travel agencies." It cannot be denied that the "International and domestic tourism is expected to boom in next two decades". And in view of this reality the Planning Commission has rightly visualized, "The earnings from tourism have made it one of the world's largest industries and fastest growing sector of global trade accounting for 10.7 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP) 12.8 percent of global exports, 8.2 percent of global employment (or one in every 12.2 jobs), and 9.4 percent of global capital investment."24 Equally the Tourism Policy of 2002 has drawn up an elaborate programme for giving a boost to this industry in the country. It is a different story that the Jammu and Kashmir does not figure even in the footnote of the National Tourism Policy. I may be smacking cynical and skeptical for looking at the issue from a different angle. My looking at sector that holds a solid promise for global economy from the seamy side pessimistic, but our fifty years tryst with this industry has been not been encouraging. The dividends from this industry have not been heartening. The facts and figures stated above very clearly suggest that this should not be a priority sector with the state but we will have refocus attention on some other sectors that have the potential of generating greater economic activity and fix fresh priorities. . The present capacity of tourism intake is sufficient and there is no need to add more to it. The State instead of investing more should consolidate already existing infrastructure by benefiting from the National Tourism Policy. There is need for imposing ban on further constructions around all the tourist spots. There is need for re-fixing our development priorities. Plan allocations for this sector need to be slashed down; instead it needs to invest in more viable sectors that could help in the sustained development of the State.