Stakeholders Perception of Tourism Industry in Valley of Kashmir in Jammu and Kashmir : An Importance-Performance Analysis

Abstract

Jammu and Kashmir is a mainstream tourist destination in view of its vast tourism potential. The state of Jammu and Kashmir has three distinct regions, viz. Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh and all three have immense potential for tourism from both domestic as well as international tourists. Kashmir region is known for unique scenic attractions popularly known as “Paradise on Earth”. Kashmir is one of the most beautiful regions of the world. The natural beauty of the Valley of Kashmir has many tourist attractions ranging from picturesque mountains, lush green meadows, famous mountain peaks, deep gorges, waterfalls, important high altitude lakes, fascinating forest flowers, wildlife, glaciers and centres of pilgrimage. Kashmir is home to a rich cultural heritage, besides a panoramic landscape that attracts tourists. Tourism is one of the major industries of the state especially in the Valley of Kashmir. Tourism is considered to be economic bonanza for J & K state because industrial development is very limited to hilly terrains. The complex nature of the industry and the multiple stakeholders that are involved in producing satisfying tourism experiences and products complicate the situation for destinations in achieving destination performance. The success of destination performance relies on the efforts of all the stakeholders that contribute in creating the total experience. The empirical research method was used for this study to examine tourism industry stakeholder’s perspectives on expectation and perception. A self administered questionnaire was developed for getting comprehensive information about expectation and perception of various prime stakeholders tourism industry in the study area. A total number of 312 establishments belonging to different stakeholders were surveyed at different places in the valley of Kashmir. The findings reveal a number of challenges in tourism industry of Valley of Kashmir in achieving desired results. These findings are brought into perspective of importance- performance analysis. Some pragmatic suggestions are provided based on main research findings of this study which may help to the revival of tourism in Valley of Kashmir.