Srinagar- Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday said his government's efforts to bring back tourists to the Union territory can work only after the tourist spots closed in the wake of Pahalgam terror attack are reopened.

“First, we have to reopen those places which have been shut. We did not shut these places in 35 years. When the militancy was at its peak, Drang or Doodhpathri were not closed, the upper areas of Gulmarg were not shut, Aru valley was not closed,” he told reporters here.

Abdullah said some courage is needed to be shown and open tourist spots and promote them effectively.

Addressing criticism that his government was focusing too much on tourism, the chief minister said,“We are trying at our own level despite the fact that we are subjected to taunts that why are we doing so much tourism promotion?

“We know that homes of lakhs of people depend on it and we want tourism to be restored to the level that was there before the Pahalgam attack.”

The chief minister said his government has sent teams outside the country to promote tourism, pointing out that a big delegation is in Singapore to restore tourism from Southeast Asia. They will also go to Berlin and London next month for tourism promotion, he added.

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