Jammu & Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation (JKTDC) has recently launched its online hotel booking facility to enable tourists and visitors to book hotels in the state from their respective places.
The facility, first of its kind provided by any public sector organisation in India, was launched at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre.
The bookings can now be done on the website of the JKTDC- www.jktdc.co.in. The customers can book a hotel of his choice by filling an application form available on the website. The form will seek details about the person, destinations he wishes to go, hotel he wants to stay in and his check-in and check-out dates.
The payment to JKTDC can be made through a credit card or sending a Demand Draft in favor of the corporation. According to Tourism Department officials, the project has been initiated under the central financial assistance of Rs 50 lakhs. It is being introduced at eight locations in Jammu and Kashmir, with operational bases at Srinagar and Jammu.
“The other locations include Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Cheshmashahi, Patnitop and Katra,” said Abdul Aziz Wani, managing director of JKTDC.
“Through this user-friendly system, it is expected that we shall be able to offer better services to our diversified client base.”
Besides booking, the portal will provide information to tourists on various resorts in the state and the facilities provided by the hoteliers there. It visually displays full information about the hotels, including the type of rooms and other facilities available to guests.
The facility was launched by secretary Tourism, Nayeem Akhtar, who said the service will enable the department to dispel misconceptions about Kashmir. “Unfortunately, many still see Kashmir as a Taliban country where modern methods of business are alien. So besides promoting the tourist destinations, the booking portal will help in removing all the wrong conceptions about Kashmir,” he said.
The software for the facility has been developed by Gold Infinite Solutions- a New Delhi based software development company.
“The advanced methods of presenting visual images about tourist destinations and hotels can help in attracting more potential customers,” Akhtar said.
The online access, he said, would be useful in promoting JK’s attractions to potential visitors to stimulate a broader and higher-valued range of demand.
