The Jammu Kashmir state administration has confirmed that the State will be open for tourists from July 14. The administration has formulated a set of guidelines for tourists.

This comes at a time when Kashmir has seen a surge in Covid-19 cases with more than 9,500 cases and over 150 deaths reported due to the pandemic.

The authorities maintained that tourism will be limited to those travelling by air. The officials have also necessitated RT-PCR (real-time polymerase chain reaction) testing for tourists.

The government order said: “In view of the Covid-19 related measures, it is felt imperative to put in place a protocol to be followed by the tourists as well as the persons/authorities engaged in the hospitality sector.”

According to the order, all incoming tourists must have confirmed hotel bookings for the duration of their stay. All tourists must have confirmed return air tickets.

The order said that taxis or transport facilities need to be pre-booked via the hotel, for which the J&K Tourism Department will give detail procedures on its Web site.

Elderly persons above the age of 65 have been asked to avoid travel.

The order said that tourists have to mandatorily pre-book their accommodation online. The proof of the same shall be checked on arrival. Taxis or transport facilities need to be pre-booked via the hotel. J&K Tourism will provide a list of such hotels and travel agencies.

The order said that only those tourists who test negative shall be permitted to leave for the hotel where the booking has been made.

Tourists who test negative from the point of their departure, will not be required to remain isolated in their hotels. However, RTPCR testing shall still be done. Tourists testing positive will be sent to a medical facility as per protocol.

The government has asked all tourists to have the Aarogya Setu app installed on their phones and the same shall be checked for ‘safe’ status at the time of arrival.

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