Jaipur/Kanpur: Thirty-seven-year-old Sagar Bahegavankar from Pune had booked the ‘Grand Kashmir Holiday’ package with MakeMyTrip—a six-night, all-inclusive trip for a group of eight, covering Srinagar, Gulmarg, and Pahalgam. Now, he has cancelled his travel plans—a day after the terrorist attack in Pahalgam killed 26 people, most of them tourists.
“I know the armed forces are there now, so it must be safe. But 26 of my countrymen have died there,” said Bahegavankar, who was scheduled to fly out from Pune on 26 April. “I don’t want to go there for a holiday. All I’ll think about is—this is where the attack happened.”
Following the attack, tourists from across India have been frantically contacting online booking platforms and travel agencies to either reschedule or cancel their plans entirely. Safety is the primary concern, but many said they simply don’t feel comfortable holidaying in a place that witnessed such bloodshed.
Unhappy with the responses—or lack thereof—from online and offline booking platforms and airlines, people have taken to social media to voice their frustration, hoping that negative feedback will prompt action. According to reports, domestic airlines have received over 15,000 requests to cancel or reschedule flights. The government has also urged tour operators, travel agents, and online platforms to provide assistance to affected tourists.
“I contacted MMT [MakeMyTrip], but they only offered a refund in the form of a gift card or a tour of equivalent value in another region,” said Bahegavankar, who paid Rs 8 lakh for the package, including flights.
Deepak Goyal, 29, from Haryana, has his trip planned for July, with a curated itinerary booked through Thrillophilia, an online platform.
“I deposited 30–40 percent of the tour amount, in addition to the flight tickets,” he said. “Our parents are also watching the news and asking us to cancel.”
Although Goyal’s trip is three months away, he said that even in July, the attacks would still weigh on his mind. This would have been his first trip to Kashmir—a region he called “a dream to travel to.”
“We keep hearing that Kashmir is the Switzerland of India, the paradise of India,” said Goyal, mentioning that his uncle had travelled there just four months ago. “But now, all parts of Kashmir feel unsafe. Even if I go in July, I’ll only visit Srinagar since it’s a major city.”
Goyal has been trying to get a refund on both his flight tickets and holiday package. He booked his onward flight from Chandigarh via ClearTrip and the return leg through Ixigo. Both platforms told him that refunds are currently being processed only for flights scheduled before 30 April. Thrillophilia is urging him to wait for the situation to improve or reschedule his trip.
“Everyone—airlines, travel companies—should understand what’s going on in the tourist’s mind,” he said, adding that the government needs to step in and offer relief to travellers.
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Sharp decline in summer travel
Every year, around 1,300 families from Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, travel to other states for summer vacations, according to Shariq Alvi, operator of the Kanpur-based Avadh Travel Agency. Forty percent of these families choose Srinagar.
“People are not only cancelling their bookings but also asking for information about other destinations,” said Alvi, adding that new bookings have completely stopped after the attack. “Even existing bookings for May and June are being cancelled.”
He said that after the attack, no one wants to take the risk of travelling to Kashmir, and this has significantly affected his business. Around 60 families who were planning to visit Srinagar in April have cancelled their trips—most of them newly married couples.
One of the victims of the attack, Shubham Dwivedi, a cement trader from Kanpur, had gone to Pahalgam with 11 family members. He was shot in the forehead in front of his wife. His last rites were performed on Thursday on the banks of the Ganga near his ancestral village, Hathipur.
The impact of the attack extends beyond travel agencies. Local residents who typically travelled to Vaishno Devi or Kashmir by train from Kanpur Central to Jammu Tawi are now cancelling their tickets as well.
A senior official at Kanpur Central Railway Station said there had been a waiting list for train tickets in May and June prior to the attack. Now, tickets are readily available for various trains, and waiting lists have shrunk. Around 5,000 passengers from Kanpur Central, Govindpuri, and nearby areas have cancelled their tickets.
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‘No boycott, but not now’
Despite the fear, many tourists still hope to visit Kashmir someday. People like Bahegavankar are mindful of the economic impact that widespread cancellations have on the region.
“My mom and dad went there in the 1980s,” he said. “All I ever heard from them were great stories about the people and the culture.”
He added that videos circulating on social media show local Kashmiris helping tourists after the attacks, and he’s clear that he does not support any boycott of Kashmir tourism.
For Goyal, although Kashmir feels unsafe right now, he acknowledges that the future is unpredictable.
“There have been incidents like this in the past, in different parts of India,” he said. “People still go to those places. I’ll just have to reassess my situation in July and then take a call.”
Udit Hinduja graduated from Batch 1 of ThePrint School of Journalism.
(Edited by Prashant)