Kashmir travel advisories affect more than tourism in the region

By Kamini Gupta and Sunil Mitra Kumar On his recent visit to Srinagar, the United States' India Ambassador Sergio Gor spoke, among other things, about the possibility that Washington might review its long-standing advisory against travel to Jammu and Kashmir. The US travel advisory recommends no travel to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir except to the eastern Ladakh region and Leh due to civil unrest and terrorism and has long been mirrored by advisories from European nations. The net result is that very few travellers from the West visit Kashmir, a region which depends heavily on tourism for income. Any talk of potential thawing is, therefore, welcomed by Kashmir's politicians and its people. What is less celebrated but is arguably even more important is that there is a wide swathe of businesses beyond tourism that would also benefit significantly from the suspension of the travel advisory. The handicraft industry is a good example. Kashmir is known for its wood carving, pashmina, hand-knotted carpets, papier-mâché, and various types of embroidery. While the domestic market for these small-scale, labour- and skill-intensive industries has been expanding in recent years, it is exports to the Middle East, Europe and the US that have even more growth potential, especially with the rising importance and recognition in these markets of 'geotagging', fair-trade supply chains and environment-friendly production techniques. A change in the travel advisory could be an important channel for this growth for several reasons. First, wholesale buyers being able to visit the Valley would facilitate the creation of direct relationships with firm owners. In the absence of these, supply chains have become increasingly fragmented, with products passing through multiple middlemen before reaching their final customer, reducing margins and introducing inefficiencies along the way. For example, exports to the US are currently channelled primarily through the Middle East where intermediaries capture a big portion of the value before selling to American customers. This also introduces volatility, as in the case of carpet exports which have suffered a major shock because of the recent conflict in the Middle East. Direct contact, instead, supports deeper relationships in the long term and shorter, more stable supply chains. Second, wholesale customers being able to visit Kashmir would be an important source of market intelligence for its businesses. Successful products are designed around actual customer requirements and informed directly by feedback. By creating distance between businesses in Kashmir and their customers in the West, the travel advisory has blocked a crucial source of information for businesses. Muheet Mehraj, co-founder of the social business platform and marketplace Kashmir Box, which specialises in handicrafts, says, 'Prior to 1990, merchandisers used to spend years in Kashmir, working with artisan groups to develop collections for the US markets. All this trade came crumbling down when things went bad in 1990, as a result of which… product and design innovation has taken a back seat'. Enabling travel will also enable the flow of information, serendipitous conversations and collaboration, and above all, the building of trust. The latter is perhaps the most important of all, albeit a more subtle and indirect benefit for building long-term relationships and driving economic growth. Third, the removal of the travel advisory would also signal greater stability within Kashmir, and the likelihood that internet blackouts will reduce over time, as will barriers to the transport of goods from Kashmir to export hubs such as Mumbai. These two factors — the internet, and dependable transport — form the backbone of any export business by enabling new customer acquisition and timely and predictable fulfilment of contracts. A change in the US advisory will not only impact Kashmir's businesses directly, but could also have a cascading effect. As Mujtaba Qadri, founder of luxury pashmina brand Me&K, notes, 'Lifting negative travel advisories would immensely benefit Kashmir's handicrafts by reconnecting us with global buyers and designers. They need to come here, meet artisans and craft houses, understand the techniques and develop designs together. If the US relaxes its advisory, I believe other Western countries will follow, opening vital new opportunities.' Muheet Mehraj says, 'Businesses intending to source from Kashmir shall have a lot more confidence, especially because they are not worried about the supply chain. This shall also help with building the craft sector as more entrepreneurs will have access to investors through this confidence-building exercise.' In the past few years, the Indian government has stated several times its desire to 'normalise' the situation in Kashmir. Setting aside any questions about the current model of political governance in Kashmir, it would be uncontroversial to state that economic development is the key priority for any long-term plan. The travel advisory of Western nations then has a dual function. It is symbolic in that it reflects the views of the West about security risks and a lack of trust in governance, but it is real in its economic implications, and it is these that are far more consequential. Whether or not the comments of the US Ambassador were premature, any long-term plan for economic growth in the region must be coupled with the political will to lobby for the removal of the advisory. Gupta is Senior Lecturer in Business and Society at the King's Business School, King's College London and Mitra Kumar is Reader in Economics, and Director of the King's India Institute, King's College London