Houseboat owners in Kashmir gear up for tourist influx

Srinagar, May 5 Houseboat owners in Kashmir are gearing up for the influx of tourists to the picturesque valley. The owners who have been busy mending and beautifying the houseboats after the winter season are ready to welcome tourists to their houseboats that have been carpeted and embellished like any five star hotel.

"Foreign tourists who come to India after having visited hotels in Mumbai and Kolkata prefer to stay in houseboats. If tourists stay in hotels for one day they stay in a houseboat for four days. They say the ambience inside the houseboats is akin to that in their homes," Gulam Nabi, a houseboat owner.

Houseboat rides have always been a hit with both domestic as well as foreign tourists.

"They are interesting constructions. It's a traditional architecture and it's a tradition of Kashmir which you don't find in other places," said Robert, a foreign forest.

Originally introduced by the British during the colonial era, the houseboats provide wholesome entertainment to tourists.

ANI