Advisory Committee
More than ten months after the Jammu and Kashmir Government announced the constitution of a multi-stakeholder Advisory Committee for tourism, its continued absence raises uncomfortable questions about intent and execution.
Tourism is not a peripheral sector in the Union Territory; it is an economic lifeline. When such a crucial reform mechanism remains unconstituted, the gap between policy declaration and administrative action becomes stark.
The Government’s stated ambition to raise tourism’s contribution to GSDP from 7 per cent to 15 per cent within five years demands structured planning, expert guidance and constant policy calibration.
Advisory Committees are not ornamental bodies; when empowered and professionally constituted, they provide market insight, environmental safeguards and stakeholder feedback that routine bureaucracy often lacks. Ten months is more than sufficient to notify such a committee, define its mandate and begin consultations.
The prolonged delay risks reinforcing perceptions of policy paralysis in a sector already vulnerable to seasonality, fragile ecology and global perception challenges. Announcing record tourist arrivals without parallel institutional preparedness may even prove counterproductive, leading to congestion, environmental stress and declining visitor experience.
