Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday urged the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to leverage its diplomatic strength to persuade Western nations to lift travel advisories discouraging visits to the region. He emphasized that such a move would serve as the strongest international validation that the situation in J-K has significantly improved.
Speaking at a tourism event in the national capital, Abdullah—who also handles the Tourism portfolio in the Union Territory—stated that his administration would collaborate closely with the Centre, particularly the MEA, to target countries with “very firm” advisories in place.
He also stressed the need to reposition Jammu and Kashmir as a destination focused on “value tourism” rather than “volume tourism.”
"First, we will review the tourism policy in light of whatever has happened in Jammu and Kashmir in terms of the tourist arrivals," Abdullah said. "As I said earlier, the need to reposition Jammu and Kashmir—and whether that means we need an entirely new tourism policy or the one we already have just needs to be tweaked a bit."
Referring to the Centre's assertion that J-K has returned to normalcy, Abdullah said, “I think the proof of the pudding is in the eating. We have to convince the international community that Jammu and Kashmir is normal, and there is no point telling us, as we see what Jammu and Kashmir is like.”
However, he added, “I doubt whether people sitting in the White House are going to be reading Indian newspapers.”
“It is the MEA that needs to use its diplomatic might to actually now start getting these travel advisories written down. I think that will be the single biggest proof acknowledged internationally that Jammu and Kashmir has changed for the better,” he said.
Abdullah stressed that merely proclaiming normalcy isn’t enough—the world needs to recognize it. “And that acknowledgement will come in the form of those travel advisories being written down and finally done away with,” he said.
He reiterated that his government would work with the Centre to influence countries with strict advisories. “The US, the EU, the United Kingdom, Australia—and get them to start sort of writing down and watering down their advisories.”