Srinagar: Tour operators from 9 countries are on a fact-finding mission in Kashmir; this in the wake of recent encounters and reports of infiltration.
Operators like Kerstin from Comtour's in Germany have been here for the past 3 days to gauge the mood in Kashmir and are giving the state a much needed thumbs up.
"I see it is a safe place and we will try to offer it and a lot of Germans are keen to come to Kashmir," said Kerstin Knuth, Director, Comtour.
"I have good feelings about the whole situation. It is calm, it is nice and I can only say I am happy here, feeling safe," observed Kruik Leendert, Director, Reiseconsulent
In the first fortnight of April alone, cancellations had reached 80 per cent. Now the state's tourism ministry is fighting back.
"We are going to have some FAM tours of some leading journalists of the country and abroad, so that they can come and see. And also tour operators from most parts of the world so that they can come and see the situation," said Farooq Shah, Director Tourism J&K .
The Tourism Department is doing this damage control exercise to dispel the fears about the security situation in Kashmir.